Somalia
3.6 Somalia Food Suppliers, Accommodation and Other Markets
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Somalia Food Suppliers, Accommodation and Other Markets

Main Food Suppliers

Main food suppliers in the area are for two seasons but unfortunately the producing area is under control of Al-Shabaab. The country used to have all these manufacturers who are now gone. It’s very hard to give indication of this subject as there is no official food logistics office that can give details of the respective queries. 

Food usually imported from Asia, is available in the local markets. The main markets are around the port towns. The major local food products are maize, sorghum, beans and sesame for oil production.
Locally produced food stuffs do not meet demand but does play an essential role especially in the remote areas. There is no local manufacturing capacity for food stuffs. Nevertheless, there is availability of additional operational support equipment in local markets such as tents, water pumps, pipes, water tanks, computer and IT equipment, office furniture. Potable water depends on a tendering agreement for importing from outside country to the purchaser direct.

Oxfam America Publication on Somalia Markets

Kismayo

Goods consumed in Kismayo come from Dubai by commercial charter vessels/dhows Al-Nour Mawafaq which supplies sugar in Kismayo from Dubai. Vessels carry roughly 150,000 mt of sugar every two/three months and the agent is Abdi Jamal. Good Land Enterprise supply goods to Kismayo on a monthly basis by dhows and their capacity are 6,000 mt of assorted goods and their agent is Suldan Mukhtar.
Brother Group of Company Ltd which supplies building material and cement in Kismayo ex Dubai by vessel every 3months with the capacity of 8,000 mt and their agent are Abdirashid & Ali Naji.
Iskashi supplies assorted goods from Dubai to Kismayo with the capacity of 150,000 mt every month by dhows and their agents in Kismayo are Abdirahman & Bashir. Competition is very limited, the demand in the town is low though trade is being posted by the current regional government in place; procurement of any needed item is done by traders from Dubai. The aforesaid companies have their HQ in Dubai, in the UAE.

Mogadishu

There are no principal industries including food and beverage processing and textiles, the main market offers goods from food, clothes to electronic gadgets.
The main Markets of Mogadishu are

  • The  Bakara Market – The biggest market.
  • The Suq Bacad Marke – In Wardhigley in Yaaqshid district
  • The Hamarweyne Market – In Hamar weyne district
  • The Madina Market – In Madina district

Bakara is the most popular market in Somalia. Commodities found in this market include; food, fuel, beverages, clothes, ornaments (silver and gold), cosmetics, medicine, hardware materials, vehicles spare part and many more.
In the 1990’s this market was also famous for weapons and ammunitions. As of now the government has banned selling weapons in public.

Main Food Suppliers:

  • Many Somalis are agro-pastoralists and only a few live in the urban centres.
  • There is no big food producing farms, only subsistence farms exist which is not enough for the consumption of the families.
  • During Said Barres regime there were big farms for cash crops such as banana, watermelon and citrus which were mainly for export.
  • There are no local manufacturing or processors of food industries due to insecurity.
  • However; there are opportunities as well as interests, the current government is working on investment laws and wants to improve the overall security of the capital in order to create a favorable environment that could attract foreign and local investments.
  • Most of the food suppliers in Mogadishu are companies that import from abroad.
  • There are no specific companies that specialize in importing one commodity they usually import different food commodities

Company

Commodity

Contact

Al-ixsaan

Sugar

Farhaan               

Benadir Gate

Sugar

Ali Gaabow

Muharam.Co.

Flour/Rice/

Ali Adoon

Qaadi Shipping

Flour/Rice

Ahmed Qaali

Al-Noor

Milk

Abdullahi Ali Abkow

Al-Fatxi

Rice

Dhiblaawe

Dayax

Rice

Ismacil Goonii

Hasco

Pasta/spaghetti

Dhamas

Shiekhdon Muhuram

Vegetable Oil

Shiekh Doon     

Accommodation

There are 2 hotels in Kismayo namely the New Waamo Hotel and the Qiilmawaye Hotel. These hotels have security personnel, the hotels are not standard as well, no housing programmes going in the town at large. Although the town was liberated by the allied AMISOM forces in October 2012, security remains unstable.

  • The New Waamo Hotel: Contact (owner) is Fatuma Ali Nasir (+252 61 553 8382) located at the main cross roads in Kismayu town and has 37 rooms of different categories. It can accommodate 59 persons at one time including conference hall.
  • The Qiilmawaye Hotel: Contact (owner) Mohamed Said (+252 61 668 2888) Golden Beach Hotel is located at the beach of Calanley Village. It has 30 rooms in double beds and single it can accommodate 31 persons at one time including a conference hall.

Mogadishu is now under the control of an internationally recognized government with the support of AU peacekeepers. Since the ousting of al-Shabab in August 2011, the city has seen an intense period of reconstruction funded by the Somali diaspora and the international community. The city has started receiving international commercial flights such as Turkish Airlines. Mogadishu still remains dangerous due to high crime rates. Although improvements are taking place there are still problems with basic services like water, electricity, and law enforcement as well as a lack of facilities like hotels, restaurants, etc.
The city is also prone to suicide bombings and other terrorist attacks carried out by extremists who manage to get past the security checkpoints around the city. Somali diaspora and other foreign companies started copying infrastructure from abroad and initiated certain investments in building hotels and guest houses, the main ones are: Guest houses and camps:-

  • Bancroft Camp: is run Bancroft Global a US based Security Company tasked with close training with AU troops, it rents houses or small cottages near the airport for AMISOM guests, UN & journalists, guests used to like it to the security as it’s in fortified camp and out all dangers of the city.
  • UN-IST: This United Nation international Support team is run by Albany Associates with Pell Pottinger; it recently commenced providing accommodation to the AMISOM guests particularly to journalists.
  • SKA guest house: This guest house is run by SKA (Air and Logistics SKYlink Arabia) it was established when SKA was running the Mogadishu Airport and was intended for those eligible for international travel.
  • Diaspora guest house: is a guest house near the UNCC compound, that attracted a lot of Somali diaspora that are afraid to access the hinterland of Mogadishu city.
  • Mogadishu Guest house: is a locally managed guest house and restaurant situated near Lido beach, it also has a children’s playground.

The most common Hotels are located in and are near the airport where the security condition is better than the hinterland.

  • Peace Hotel
  • Aran Hotel
  • Hotel Shaamo
  • Hotel Nasa-Habood
  • Jazeera Place Hotel
  • Maka-Al Mukaram hotel
  • Kuwait hotel
  • Amira Global hotel
  • Oriental hotel
  • City palace hotel

Additional Operational Support

Other operational support exists but not developed and mostly is retailers; there are no large agencies in the city that caters for the electronics.

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