A Chinese investor has announced plans to invest in tea production in Kenya following an agreement reached during President William Ruto's recent visit to the Asian nation.
President Ruto met Fuzhou Benny Tea Industries chairman Zhang Chaobin on Tuesday when they discussed ways of increasing Kenyan tea in the Chinese market.
The investor agreed to the plans to set up tea factories in select tea-growing regions of the country to boost the consumption of Kenyan tea.
The tea sub-sector is critical to Kenya's economy, and fetched about Ksh180.57 billion (USD1.22 billion) in exports last year.
"Benny Tea Industries is looking at fulfilling their annual requirements of orthodox tea from the Kenyan market. The chairman also committed to investing in modern orthodox tea production factories in selected tea-growing counties, as well as improving the value addition of Kenya’s orthodox tea," State House shared in a statement.
Kenya's export of tea to China is estimated at Ksh528 million, with the main tea being orthodox.
China has remained a key trading partner for Kenya. According to the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS) Economic Survey 2025, total imports from China amounted to Ksh26 billion in 2024, a decline from Ksh29 billion in 2023.
Meanwhile, the State House indicated that Kenya is seeking to strengthen bilateral trade relations with China by increasing the export of key commodities, including tea, coffee, avocado, and macadamia nuts, to the Chinese market.
Benny Tea Industries ranks among the top three companies in China’s tea production and retail supply chain. The company specialises in a variety of refined speciality teas.
According to the 2025/26 Budget Estimates, China provided a Ksh9.4 billion loan to support the Finance Bill, with the funds allocated to the Ministries of Roads and ICT.
During his trip to China, President Ruto signed multiple deals worth Ksh100.1 billion ($773 million), including partnerships with the Zonken Group and China Wu Yi companies.
The engagement with the investors brought together stakeholders in the tea sector, including the Ministry of Agriculture, Kenya Tea Development Agency, and the Kenya Tea Board.
Focus on the expansion of markets for Kenyan produce underlines President Ruto’s strategic push to boost growth, packaging, and export of orthodox and specialty teas in overseas markets, according to State House.
