Tea is one of Kenya's main exports and a significant driver of the country's economy, supporting some 5m direct and indirect jobs across the value chain. According to data from the Tea Board of Kenya TBK, production volumes rose by 24 from 458.85m kg in 2019 to 570.26m kg in 2023.
This makes Kenya the world's third largest tea producer after India and China. Meanwhile, export earnings from tea hit a record Sh215.21bn 1.7bn in 2024, up from Sh180.5bn 1.4bn in 2023. This was partly driven by access to new export destinations, with Kenyan tea shipments reaching 96 countries in 2024, up from 92 in the previous year.
Pakistan is the top export destination for Kenyan tea, importing 206.27m kg in 2024 and accounting for 34.7 of the country's total tea export volumes. Other major buyers include Egypt 86.90m kg, the UK 57.44m kg, UAE 30.50m kg, Russia 28.46m kg, India 17.13m kg, Saudi Arabia 15.92m kg, Yemen 14.13m kg, Iran 13m kg and China 12.42m kg. Collectively, these ten countries - most of them long-established markets for Kenyan tea - accounted for 81 of total tea export volume in 2024.
Despite the positive momentum of recent years, a drop in production was recorded in the first quarter of 2025. In January, output decreased to 54.36m kg, down from 58.95m kg a year earlier. February's production dropped to 44.61m kg, compared to 55.44m kg the previous year, while March figures fell sharply to 37.93m kg from 54.34m kg in the same month of 2024.
TBK attributed this slowdown to poor rainfall and global trade disruptions "Tea performance remains under pressure from weather and global shocks. Kenya produced 51.78m kg of tea in April, 3.85 less than April 2024, mainly due to low rainfall... Disruptions from the Russia-Ukraine war, Red Sea attacks and Sudan conflict affected global buying," TBK stated in its industry performance report for April.