Why Ethiopian beer is gaining popularity in northern Kenya

Many beer lovers along the Ethiopia-Kenya border have resorted to drinking alcohol smuggled from the neighbouring country, saying locally produced liquor is unaffordable.

This comes as higher taxes push the prices of most Kenyan beer brands through the roof, going beyond the reach of many in a region where incomes are below the national average.

Some drinkers told the Nation that they have turned to cheaper booze smuggled from Ethiopia, much to the chagrin of local traders.

For instance, Moyale trader Hussein Ture lamented that consumption of Kenyan beer among those aged 20 and above had drastically fallen by roughly 60 percent over the last five years when local beer prices rose sharply.

“Right now, we simply cannot get to the profitable growth of the local beer trade, especially along the Ethiopian-Kenyan border without any significant changes to either Ethiopian or Kenyan beer prices … Consumers have resorted to the foreign brands,” he said.

He said Kenyan booze is continually losing market share in the region to Ethiopian liquor, whose prices are cheaper by almost a third.

He said one bar owner ordered Kenyan beer worth over Sh4 million from Nairobi, only to be forced to reduce the stock worth only Sh1.5 million since there was no market for such products in the region.

Moyale resident Ali Hussein, a beer consumer, questioned how Kenyan brands such as Tusker Lager that sell for Sh250 in the region could compete with cheaper Ethiopian beer brands such as St George Lager, Harar Lager, Bedele, Dopel, Walia, Zebidar and Babesha that retail for as low as Sh60.

He claimed the foreign brands were of a lower quality but he still preferred them because they are cheaper.

He warned that pubs that sold mainly Kenyan brands risked closing, describing the sky-high costs of Kenyan beer as the key problem.

He said the Kenyan government should cut duty on local beer or tax Ethiopian brands, most of which are smuggled into Kenya through undesignated routes.

Mr Hussein observed that though consumers benefit from cheaper Ethiopian products, low-cost foreign beers should be regulated, saying their lower prices and easy access to them could plunge young people into alcoholism.

Until cheaper foreign booze is regulated, local brewers and dealers would continue to take a hit.

Moyale Maendeleo Ya Wanawake Organisation official Asna Hussein also lamented that youths in the region were abusing Ethiopian alcohol because it is cheaper and easy to find.

She called on the Kenyan authorities to regulate the entry of foreign and substandard beer.

Her lamentations were echoed by Kenya National Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KNCCI) Moyale chapter chairperson Ahmed Ali, who said substandard foreign products were finding their way to Kenya through undesignated routes.

He said the cheap foreign beer is sneaked across the border by boda boda operators.

He was concerned that cheap Ethiopian beer was gaining more popularity than Kenyan brands because sellers evaded taxes.

“The solution for heavy drinking and tax evasion in some of the poorest parts of this region is to control the flooding of the ultra-low-cost beer from across the border,” Mr Ali said.

Some of the border areas where Ethiopian beer is found are Moyale, Dukana, Illeret, Balesa and North Horr.

The Kenya Revenues Authority had received reports about the entry of untaxed Ethiopian beer into Kenya and was investigating the authenticity of the claims, said agency official Felistus Nyagwoka.