But Somalis need small change with which to buy tea, sugar, qat (a herbal stimulant) and so on.

ECONOMIST: Somalia��s mighty shilling

In the eyes of many foreigners and reform-minded Yemenis, qat is the root of the country's numberless ills.

ECONOMIST: Chewing through a Yemeni afternoon | The

The most lucrative import is qat, a stimulating leaf chewed by Somali men.

ECONOMIST: Canny traders adapt to anarchy

This time round, it is apparently not picking fights with wealthy qat merchants.

ECONOMIST: Somalia's Islamists

They are expected to disavow music, videos, cigarettes and qat, the leaf Somali men chew most afternoons to get mildly high.

ECONOMIST: Somalia's Islamists

Yet, a few days ago, President Ali Abdullah Saleh made it known that he was giving up qat and that his people should do likewise.

ECONOMIST: Chewing through a Yemeni afternoon

Before Yemenis began migrating to the Gulf for jobs, or profiting from Yemen's own modest oil boom, qat was a luxury for the rich on special occasions.

ECONOMIST: Chewing through a Yemeni afternoon | The

The area given over to coffee quadrupled between 1970 and 1995, but the planting of qat increased more than tenfold, using up huge amounts of land and water.

ECONOMIST: Chewing through a Yemeni afternoon