Frankincense trade hit by drought causing job losses

[Deeq A.]

Fadumo Mohamed (centre) and two other women sifting frankincense for export/Abdirahman Abdi Mohamed/

Fadumo Mohamed, 37, is thinking of going back to the IDP camp in Bosaso, where she lived nine years ago.  She has been working in a company that exports frankincense, but business has reduced so drastically due to the drought that she can no longer be sure of taking home any money for the children.

The frankincense-yielding boswellia trees that grow on steep hillsides and crags in the mountainous areas of Bari and Sanag regions of northern Somalia have suffered badly from the prolonged drought.

Local men climb the hills early in the mornings to slash the bark of the trees to tap the aromatic resin used in incense and perfumes. The amount of resin they bring back has generally fallen by around three quarters over the past three years of drought.

Fadumo, a single mother of seven, sits with other women ion the floor sifting dust of the chunks of dried resin, and sorting the pieces ready for packing for export.  They are paid for the amount of frankincense they process – roughly $6.4 (180,000 Somali shillings) for a large sack.

“Nowadays I only get work occasionally,” Fadumo told Radio Ergo. “Around 10 women sit and do the amount of work that used to be done by just two of us.  We share the small income we get so everyone gets something to take home.

Last year, Fadumo mostly went back home empty handed from the frankincense firm. She was forced to start buying food for the family from local stores on credit. She has not been able to pay her house rent for four months and her debts at the food stores amount to more than $300.

Mohamed Samatar Yusuf, chairman of the frankincense exporters in Bari region, said unemployment has affected hundreds of women working in 23 small factories preparing frankincense. Only three of these businesses are still in partial production, all the rest have closed down.

Around 80 per cent of the world’s frankincense is grown in Somalia. The aromatic resin is exported to Djibouti, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Oman and the United Arab emirates. From there it goes all over the world, especially to Europe and America, where demand for the essential oils distilled from frankincense has increased in recent years.

Over-tapping of the trees to meet export demands combined with plagues of insects, and deforestation, have all taken their toll on frankincense production. But the ongoing harsh drought might have the most lethal impact yet on this 5,000-year-old trade.

Duale Haji Yusuf has 400 frankincense-producing trees that used to bring in around 1,000 kg of the valuable resin a year. Last year, however, he harvested only 250 kg. The tress did not remain long in blossom and some did not flower at all due to the lack of rain. Duale used to count on making $7,000 a year from his trees, but now is lucky to get $2,000. He has to pay for school fees and all other needs for his large family of 13 children.

Mohamed Samatar Yusuf said 110 shareholders in the 23 small factories last year exported frankincense worth $100,000. This was a fraction of the $500,000 earned from exports in previous good years. Frankincense has been second only to livestock in Somalia’s exports.