Kenya and Iran have agreed to establish a joint committee to lift the ban on Kenyan tea exports to the Arab country within the next 60 days.
According to Agriculture Cabinet Secretary Mutahi Kagwe, the formation of the committee will be fundamental in eliminating entities who engage in the unlawful export of tea to Iran.
Kagwe noted that the ban came after a Kenyan company imported low-grade tea, blended it, and re-exported it to Iran as high-grade tea.
This irregularity by the company, which he noted has been deregistered by the Tea Board of Kenya and is set to face prosecution, caused a diplomatic fallout between the two countries and ultimately resulted in the ban.
The committee will engineer stiffer regulations to ensure compliance and integrity while exporting Kenyan tea to Iran, to ensure that such incidents will not recur in the future.
The announcement was made after Prime Cabinet Secretary Musalia Mudavadi and Agriculture Cabinet Secretary Mutahi Kagwe held a meeting with Iran's Agriculture Minister on Monday, August 12, during the 7th Session of the Kenya–Iran Joint Commission for Cooperation (JCC) held in Nairobi.
“Kenya’s tea sector is one of our largest foreign exchange earners, and we must protect it from unscrupulous traders who damage our reputation,” the Ministry of Agriculture said.
"The joint committee will develop a framework to restore trust and ensure compliance with quality standards, with the ultimate goal of resuming tea exports before the end of the 60 days," it added.
Tea exports are a major contributor to the country's economy, with the country being the world's largest exporter of black tea. However, the ban by Iran, which has long been Kenya's top tea importer, has dealt a heavy blow to the export and agriculture sector, according to the ministry.
"According to official trade statistics, Kenya exported 12.4 million kilograms of tea to Iran in 2023, valued at KSh 4.28 billion. Kenya exported 17.8million kgs valued at Ksh 5.85B. The ban has caused significant losses to Kenyan tea farmers and exporters," the ministry stated.
Earlier this year, in April, the Agriculture CS met with Iranian business groups to deliberate the way forward on not only lifting the ban but also expanding the trade network in the larger Middle Eastern and Central Asian Region.
"Reopening access to Iran’s robust market could be a game changer for tea farmers and the entire tea value chain," Kagwe said in a statement.
