Disruption to global shipping routes has taken a huge toll on Kenya’s economy.
Millions of kilograms of Middle East-bound tea are stuck in warehouses in Mombasa’s port, threatening the incomes of Kenyan farmers and exporters alike: A regional trade body said the losses amounted to roughly $8 million a week since March 1. A survey, meanwhile, found private sector activity in Kenya contracted in March for the first time since August, in part due to the war.
But whereas the upending of global shipping has been a blow to East Africa’s biggest economy, which relies heavily on fuel imports, the disruption has had the opposite effect elsewhere on the continent. Maritime traffic to South Africa has jumped as shipping companies look for safer routes around the Cape of Good Hope — even if the journey is much longer and pricier — while Tanger Med, Africa’s largest container port, is bracing for a surge in demand.
