Nairobi, Feb. 2 -- Kenya is staring at a possible loss of foreign exchange earnings from tea as Egypt and Pakistan grapple with a serious scarcity of foreign currency in those markets that have seen shipping lines threaten to withdraw services, a move that will have serious ramifications on one of Nairobi's top exports.

Foreign ships, according to the Economic Times of India, want to pull out of Pakistan due to non-payment of freight charges as the banks fail to remit the money to shipping lines due to a dollar shortage.

The two countries account for 55 percent of Kenya's total tea exports.

Traders at the Mombasa auction are now worried that should the shipping lines pull out of Pakistan, the effects will be far-reaching to farmers and...