STORY: Kenyan meat exports to the Middle East have dropped sharply during the peak Ramadan season amid the Iran war.
Exporters of fresh chilled meat, most of it flown to Gulf markets, are now operating at a fraction of normal volumes.
They say airspace disruptions and higher war-risk insurance premiums reduced cargo capacity.
Nicholas Ngahu is chief executive of the Kenya Meat and Livestock Exporters Industry Council.
"So we have really been hit as meat exporters, we are doing below fifteen per cent of our normal exports, and now that it is Ramadan, we are doing less than five per cent of what we are supposed to be doing."
Ngahu added that the Middle East is Kenya's main export market for meat, with the UAE traditionally accounting for between 40 and 60 percent of shipments.
"We are only exporting to UAE, we normally export to Iran, Qatar, Oman, Kuwait, Bahrain and Jordan."
At slaughterhouses in Kiambu County, production lines have slowed and chill rooms are filling up.
Logistics firms say the sharp drop in exports is being driven by a surge in air freight costs.
Most airlines serving the region have cut operations, forcing exporters to rely on costly cargo charters to the UAE.
