Kenya’s tea exports rise 9% in August amid production challenges, global disruptions

KENYA – Kenya’s tea export industry demonstrated resilience in August 2024, achieving a 9 percent increase in export volumes despite a decline in production and ongoing global trade disruptions caused by geopolitical instability. 

The Tea Board of Kenya’s latest performance report revealed that the country exported 50.65 million kilograms of tea in August, up from 46.35 million kilograms during the same period last year

The shipments reached 56 destinations, compared to 52 in August 2023, signaling significant progress in market diversification efforts. 

The growth in exports was driven by Kenya’s expansion into non-traditional and emerging markets.  

Rapid growth was observed in markets such as Chad and South Sudan, while seasonal buyers, including Bangladesh, Australia, Georgia, Burkina Faso, Kyrgyzstan, Mali, Mexico, Guinea, Cameroon, Togo, and Israel, also contributed to the positive performance. 

Despite this expansion, traditional markets like Pakistan, Egypt, and the UK remained dominant. Pakistan accounted for 40% of the total exports, representing 20.26 million kilograms, followed by Egypt with 8.46 million kilograms and the UK with 4.66 million kilograms.  

Collectively, the top 10 export destinations absorbed 84 percent of Kenya’s total export volume. 

Value-added tea exports continued to grow as a vital segment for the industry. In August, Kenya exported 1.43 million kilograms of value-added tea, making up 3 percent of the total export volume.  

The UK emerged as the largest buyer in this category, accounting for 42 percent of shipments, followed by Somalia at 21 percent, and Ireland and Oman at 6 percent each. 

However, tea production faced significant setbacks due to unfavorable weather conditions, including low rainfall and cool temperatures in key growing regions.  

Total production fell by 6.94 million kilograms, from 45.57 million kilograms in August 2023 to 38.62 million kilograms this year. 

The decline was most pronounced in the West and East Rift Valley regions. The West Rift Block reported a production loss of 4.56 million kilograms, while the East Rift Block recorded a decline of 2.38 million kilograms. 

Smallholder farmers under the Kenya Tea Development Agency (KTDA) saw their production drop from 18.12 million kilograms in August 2023 to 16.28 million kilograms. Independent producers sourcing green leaf from smallholders also reported a decrease of 2.82 million kilograms. 

Despite rising export volumes, Kenya faces a growing challenge of unsold tea. Agriculture Principal Secretary Ronoh reported that KTDA currently holds 100 million kilograms of unsold tea from smallholder factories. 

To address this issue, the government has established a task force to investigate factors contributing to unsold tea, including the impact of the minimum reserve price, pricing disparities, and the role of private factories.  

The task force is expected to propose actionable solutions to support the tea sub-sector. 

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