Kenya plans stricter tea sector regulations to protect farmers, strengthen industry oversight

KENYA – Kenya is preparing tighter regulations aimed at streamlining the country’s multi-billion-shilling tea sector and protecting more than 800,000 farmers from exploitation across the value chain. 

The proposed reforms will strengthen oversight by the Tea Board of Kenya and introduce stricter controls targeting malpractices such as the hawking of green leaf tea across regions and theft at tea processing factories. 

Speaking during the launch of the Kenya Tea Industry Performance Report 2025 at Rukuriri Tea Factory in Embu, Mutahi Kagwe said the new framework would require tighter licensing conditions for tea factories. 

According to Kagwe, applicants seeking licences will be required to meet minimum green leaf supply thresholds aligned with national processing capacity and demonstrate both technical and financial capability. 

The Agriculture Cabinet Secretary said the government would also tighten controls on tea imports to prevent low-quality tea from entering the domestic market. 

“This will protect Kenya from being a dumping ground for low-quality tea in the domestic market,” Kagwe said. 

He added that the Tea Board of Kenya would be empowered to suspend, revoke or vary licences in cases of non-compliance while ensuring strict adherence to reporting requirements across the industry. 

The reforms will also introduce a tea levy aimed at creating sustainable funding for marketing, research, development and value addition initiatives within the tea sector. 

“For decades, the Kenya tea industry has been disadvantaged in global competitiveness compared to countries such as Sri Lanka and China, largely due to insufficient marketing and limited investment in value addition,” Kagwe said. 

The event was attended by factory directors led by Enos Njeru, who called on lawmakers from tea-growing regions to prioritise legislation that safeguards farmers’ interests. 

Njeru raised concerns about provisions contained in the Tea Amendment Bill, 2023, warning that some proposals could disrupt factory operations and fertiliser imports. 

“There is a need to allow the factories to be managed through the Company Act and allow the management of six directors to remain,” Njeru said. 

He further urged factories to prioritise quality production in order to attract more buyers in international markets. 

Meanwhile, George Omuga said tea production declined from 598.5 million kilos in 2024 to 550 million kilos in 2025, highlighting the need for reforms to stabilise the industry. 

Despite the production decline, Kenya’s tea sector recorded improved market value performance. During 2025, the total marketed value for tea rose 2% to Kes 218.79 billion (US$1.69B) from Kes 215.21 billion (US$1.66B) recorded in 2024 and 11% higher than Kes 196.97 billion (US$1.52B) reported in 2023. 

Of the total marketed value recorded in 2025, Kes 186.91 billion (US$1.44B) came from exports, Kes 19.13 billion (US$147.26M) from local sales and Kes 12.75 billion (US$98.3M) from committed stocks, underscoring the continued importance of tea exports to Kenya’s economy. 

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