Kagwe tells Senators tea export earnings have increased

Agriculture Cabinet Secretary Mutahi Kagwe has told Senators that export earnings from tea have increased from Sh 136.5 Billion in 2021 to Sh 181.69 Billion in 2024.

He added that the number of export markets has increased from 82 in 2022 to 97 in 2024.

Kagwe, who appeared before the Senate plenary to answer questions, attributed the increase to enhanced market expansion activities, including trade missions and promotion undertaken in Russia, Iran, Saudi Arabia. UAE, China, Hong Kong, Egypt, Pakistan, Kazakhstan, Germany, Canada, USA and Ghana.

The Cabinet Secretary told Senators that total payment to smallholder tea farmers in the country increased from Sh44.1 billion in 2021 and Sh90.5 billion in 2024, with Smallholder Tea Factories increasing the monthly payment to tea farmers from Sh16 to Sh21 in the East of Rift and Sh 20 in the West of Rift.

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Kirinyaga Senator James Murango had asked Kagwe to provide details on the gains attained from the implementation of the tea reforms so far and also provide a commitment towards the continued implementation of the reforms to ensure better returns for tea farmers across the country.

The Cabinet Secretary told the Senators that total payments have increased from Sh34.7 per Kg of Greenleaf in 2021 to Sh59 in 2023 and Sh 64 in 2024.

He told the Senate that the exports of value-added tea increased from 20.3 million Kgs in 2022 to 28.89 million kgs in 2024, with the value of Value-added teas increasing from Sh3.5 billion in 2021 to Sh12.08 billion in 2024.

Kagwe said the production of high-value specialty teas has increased from 3.7 million Kgs in 2023 to 7.2 million Kgs in 2024 through licensing of Orthodox processing capacity and specialty tea manufacturers.

To cushion the tea farmers against the high cost of fertilizer, the government has for the last two years subsidized 194000 MT of fertilizer distributed to farmers for Sh2,500 per bag from Sh3,500.

“Due to accessibility of subsidized fertilizer coupled with good weather conditions, tea production for the year 2024 surpassed the 2023 production by 28.21 Million kgs (4.95%) to stand at 598.47 Million kgs against 570.26 Million kgs for the year 2023 which was also significantly higher compared to 535.04 Million kgs recorded in 2022,” said Kagwe.

He said that to operationalize the Tea Act 2020, Regulations and Guidelines have been finalized and subjected to public participation in line with the Constitutional and the Statutory Instruments Act with regulations  Tea (Levy) Regulations, 2024.

Kagwe also listed Tea (Registration and Licensing) Regulations, 2024; Corporate Governance Guidelines & Code of Conduct for the Tea Sector; Guidelines on the quality of green leaf for processing by tea factories.

Murango asked the Cabinet Secretary to explain the current position of the government on the export of raw macadamia nuts, of which Kagwe responded that the position of the government is that exportation of raw macadamia (nuts-in-shell) is not allowed.

The Cabinet Secretary told the Senate that the lifting of the ban on exporting raw macadamia nuts (in shell) is inconsistent with the government policy on promoting processing and value addition of agricultural produce.

“Processing of macadamia nuts locally creates jobs in the manufacturing sector and boost the economy through enhanced foreign exchange earnings with the macadamia industry in Kenya has created approximately 200,000 jobs across the value chain,” said Kagwe.

He said that from July 2023 to February 2025, the country has earned Sh8.7 billion by exporting 10,670 tons of macadamia kernel against Sh2.3 billion from exporting 14,384.36 tons of in shell (unprocessed) macadamias with this translating to an average price of Sh161/Kg of in shell macadamia against an export price of Sh816/Kg for kernels.