Kenya's Tea Sector Registers Significant Growth

By BRIAN MUSYOKA 

Agriculture CS Mutahi Kagwe (centre) together with Embu leaders at Rukuriri tea factory. MWINGI TIMES |Brian Musyoka 

The sector’s impressive performance was unveiled at Rukuriri Tea Factory in Embu County, where Cabinet Secretary for Agriculture and Livestock Development, Mutahi Kagwe, presented the 2025 Kenya Tea Industry Performance Report.

“This growth is not by chance. It reflects deliberate reforms, expansion into new markets, and a renewed focus on quality and value addition under the Bottom-Up Economic Transformation Agenda,” CS Kagwe said.

The CS said the  recovery comes amid a turbulent international landscape, including ongoing geopolitical tensions from the Russia-Ukraine war, unrest in Sudan and Yemen, and pressures on foreign exchange rates.

Kagwe said despite these challenges, Kenya’s tea industry expanded across all key metrics. Export earnings rose to KSh 186.91 billion, up 2.87%, while export volumes hit 652.8 million kilograms, marking a 9.81% increase.

Domestic sales climbed to KSh 19.13 billion, a 6% rise, with the total marketed value growing 2% from 2024 and 11% from 2023.

The report indicated that Kenya’s tea now reaches 100 international markets, up from 96 last year. Traditional buyers such as Pakistan and Egypt maintained steady demand, while re-export hubs like the UAE and Oman recorded substantial growth. Oman alone posted a 320% increase in tea volumes.

Emerging markets delivered the highest gains, with Ireland , Japan and Kazakhstan  emerging as key new buyers. Analysts say this highlights the government’s successful push to diversify the country’s tea export destinations.

The rebound follows a difficult 2024, when a bumper harvest and leftover stocks from 2023 created a global oversupply of CTC tea, causing prices to slump. CS Kagwe said the government’s strategy has shifted from volume-focused exports to prioritizing quality, value addition, and market segmentation.

In a policy move, CS Kagwe announced the enactment of two new regulations the Tea (Registration and Licensing) Regulations, 2026, and the Tea (Levy) Regulations, 2026. He said the laws enforce full traceability and accountability across the tea value chain.

He said the reforms target longstanding challenges, including green leaf hawking, exploitation by middlemen, delays in leaf collection, and falsified weighment. Under the new framework, farmers, factories, exporters, and brokers must comply with registration requirements or face stiff penalties.

Further  he noted that 0.8% export levy has been introduced to fund marketing, research, infrastructure, and regulatory oversight, while a 100% import levy will shield local producers from cheap, low-quality tea flooding the market. CS Kagwe stressed that farmers will not bear the cost of these levies, which are paid by exporters and importers.

To streamline trade, the Tea Board of Kenya will launch a B2B e-commerce platform linking producers directly to global buyers. Kagwe said Kenya is also tapping into trade frameworks like the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) and bilateral deals to expand value addition in markets such as Egypt, Algeria, and Morocco.

Embu Governor Cecily Mbarire urged the government to ensure that all tea exported outside Kenya is value handed to ensure more money for farmers .

Kenya Tea Development Authority Chairman Enos Njeru  urged tea growers to venture into other crops to cushion themselves against fluctuations in tea prices and global market disruptions.

Diversification, he noted, would enhance food security at household level while ensuring farmers maintain stable incomes even when tea earnings decline. 

There was also a strong call for the government to establish a revolving fund specifically for tea farmers.They said the fund would provide financial support during difficult periods when global events such as wars disrupt the tea value chain.

The proposed revolving fund would help farmers meet production costs, sustain their farms, and avoid financial distress during market downturns.

With over 834,000 smallholder farmers and 6.5 million people dependent on the tea value chain, the reforms aim to boost smallholder earnings from KSh 59 per kilogram in 2022 to KSh 100 per kilogram by 2027. The 2025 performance signals more than recovery  it marks a structural reset toward a high-quality, globally competitive tea industry.