By Joel Chacha/Nairobi/Kenya
Kenya’s tea industry has staged a resilient comeback, posting KSh 218.79 billion in total marketed value in 2025, as sweeping reforms, aggressive market expansion, and new regulations signal a decisive shift toward higher farmer earnings and global competitiveness.
Speaking at Rukuriri Tea Factory in Embu County during the official release of the 2025 Kenya Tea Industry Performance Report, Cabinet Secretary for Agriculture and Livestock Development, Sen. Mutahi Kagwe, declared the sector firmly back on a growth trajectory despite global economic shocks and market disruptions.
“This performance is not accidental. It is the result of deliberate reforms, market expansion, and a renewed focus on quality and value addition under the Bottom-Up Economic Transformation Agenda,” CS Kagwe said.
The 2025 performance comes against the backdrop of a turbulent global environment marked by the lingering effects of the Russia-Ukraine war, conflicts in Sudan and Yemen, and currency pressures.
Yet, Kenya’s tea sector expanded across all key indicators:
1. Export earnings rose to KSh 186.91 billion, up 2.87%
2. Export volumes hit 652.8 million kilograms, a 9.81% increase
3. Domestic sales grew to KSh 19.13 billion, up 6%
4. Total marketed value increased by 2% from 2024 and 11% from 2023
Even more significant was Kenya’s expanding global footprint, with tea reaching 100 international markets in 2025, up from 96 the previous year.
Traditional markets such as Pakistan and Egypt posted steady growth, while re-export hubs like the UAE and Oman surged — with Oman recording a remarkable 320% increase in volumes.
Emerging markets delivered the biggest breakthroughs, including Ireland (+454%), Japan (+287%) and Kazakhstan (+186%), underscoring Kenya’s aggressive diversification strategy.
The strong 2025 performance follows a difficult 2024 season when a bumper harvest, combined with carryover stocks from 2023, created a global glut of CTC tea, depressing prices.
Kagwe said the government has since shifted strategy — moving away from volume-driven exports to quality, value addition, and market segmentation.
“At the height of the glut, we made a choice — not to retreat, but to reform. What you are seeing now is the beginning of a smarter, more competitive tea economy,” CS Kagwe noted.
In a bold regulatory move, CS Kagwe announced that he has signed into law two transformative frameworks:
1. The Tea (Registration and Licensing) Regulations, 2026
2. The Tea (Levy) Regulations, 2026
The new laws introduce full traceability and accountability across the tea value chain, targeting long-standing issues such as:Green leaf hawking,
Exploitation by middlemen, Delays in leaf collection and
Falsification of weighment.
For the first time, all actors; from farmers and factories to exporters and brokers — will be subject to a comprehensive registration and compliance regime, with stiff penalties for violations.
The regulations also tighten controls on tea imports to curb dumping of low-quality teas that undermine Kenya’s global pricing.
At the heart of the reforms is a 0.8% export levy on tea, designed to fund:
1. Global marketing and branding
2. Research and development
3. Infrastructure in tea-growing regions
4. Industry regulation and oversight
A 100% levy on imported tea has also been introduced as a protective measure.
CS Kagwe emphasized that the levy will not burden farmers, noting it is payable by exporters and importers, effectively positioning it as a consumer-side cost.
“For too long, Kenya has produced some of the best tea in the world but invested too little in marketing it. That changes now,” CS Kagwe said.
In a move to bypass traditional trading bottlenecks, the Tea Board of Kenya will launch an e-commerce B2B marketplace, directly linking producers to global buyers.
At the same time, Kenya is deepening trade diplomacy under frameworks such as the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), securing value addition opportunities in markets like Egypt’s Alexandria Free Zone and expanding bilateral trade channels with Algeria and Morocco.
The reforms are ultimately aimed at delivering on a key BETA target — increasing smallholder earnings from KSh 59 per kilogram in 2022 to KSh 100 per kilogram by 2027.
With over 834,000 smallholder farmers and 6.5 million Kenyans dependent on the tea value chain, CS Kagwe framed the reforms as both an economic and social imperative.
The 2025 report signals more than recovery — it marks a structural reset of Kenya’s tea industry, shifting it toward quality, compliance, value addition, and global branding.
With new laws in force, fresh markets opening, and financing mechanisms secured, the sector is now positioning itself not just as the world’s leading black tea exporter — but as a premium global brand capable of commanding higher prices and delivering better returns to farmers.
