Agriculture CS Mutahi Kagwe on tea sector reforms./FILE. 

Tea earnings rise to Sh218bn as Kenya expands global markets

Kenya’s tea sector earnings for 2025 rose to Sh218.79 billion, a growth attributed to reforms, market expansion and new regulations.

Kenya’s tea industry has recorded an increase of Sh218.79 billion in total marketed value in 2025. This is attributed to reforms, market expansion and new regulations which have led to higher farmer earnings and global competitiveness.

Speaking at Rukuriri Tea Factory in Embu County during the release of the 2025 Kenya Tea Industry Performance Report, Agriculture and Livestock Development Cabinet Secretary Mutahi Kagwe said the sector is back on a growth path 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,” Kagwe said.

He noted that the 2025 performance comes against a turbulent global environment marked by the lingering effects of the Russia-Ukraine war, conflicts in Sudan and Yemen, and currency pressures.

According to the Tea Industry Performance Report, export earnings rose to Sh186.91 billion, up 2.87 per cent, while export volumes reached 652.8 million kilogrammes, a 9.81 per cent increase. Domestic sales grew to Sh19.13 billion, up 6 per cent, while the total marketed value rose by 2 per cent from 2024 and 11 per cent from 2023.

The report also showed that Kenya expanded its global footprint, with tea reaching 100 international markets in 2025, up from 96 the previous year.

Traditional markets such as Pakistan and Egypt recorded steady growth, while re-export hubs like the UAE and Oman surged, with Oman posting a 320 per cent increase in volumes.

“Emerging markets delivered major gains, including Ireland (+454 per cent), Japan (+287 per cent) and Kazakhstan (+186 per cent), underscoring Kenya’s 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,” the report showed.

Kagwe said the government has since shifted strategy from volume-driven exports to a focus on 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 more competitive tea economy,” he said.

The CS also announced the signing into law of the Tea (Registration and Licensing) Regulations, 2026, and the Tea (Levy) Regulations, 2026.

He said the new laws introduce traceability and accountability across the tea value chain, targeting issues such as green leaf hawking, exploitation by middlemen, delays in leaf collection and falsification of weighment.

Kagwe noted that the levy will not burden farmers, as it is payable by exporters and importers, effectively placing the cost on consumers.

“For too long, Kenya has produced some of the best tea in the world but invested too little in marketing it. That changes now,” he said.

“In a move to ease access to global markets, the Tea Board of Kenya will launch an e-commerce B2B marketplace to directly link producers with buyers.”

Kagwe added that 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 with Algeria and Morocco.

The reforms aim to increase smallholder earnings from Sh59 per kilogramme in 2022 to Sh100 per kilogramme by 2027.