Kenya and Iran form joint committee to lift tea ban within 60 days » Capital News

NAIROBI, Kenya, Aug 12 – Kenya and Iran have established a joint committee to eradicating trade obstacles within 60 days, paving the way for the lifting of the ban on Kenyan tea exports to Iran.

The breakthrough was reached during the 7th Session of the Kenya–Iran Joint Commission for Cooperation (JCC) held in Nairobi, co-chaired by Prime Cabinet Secretary Musalia Mudavadi and Gholamreza Nouri Ghezalcheh, Minister of Agricultural Jihad of Iran.  

The move comes in the wake of a criminal trade malpractice involving a Kenyan company, Cup of Joe Limited, which has since been deregistered by the Tea Board of Kenya and is set to face prosecution.

Investigations revealed that the firm imported low-grade tea, blended it, and re-exported it to Iran as high-grade Kenyan tea, triggering a diplomatic dispute and the subsequent ban.

Agriculture and Livestock Development Cabinet Secretary Sen. Mutahi Kagwe said the two countries had agreed to draft strict regulations to prevent such criminal activity in future and safeguard the integrity of Kenyan tea.

“Kenya’s tea sector is one of our largest foreign exchange earners, and we must protect it from unscrupulous traders who damage our reputation,” said the CS.

Iran is among the top ten importers of Kenyan tea. In 2024, data collated by Tea Board of Kenya shows they imported 13mn kilogramme worth Sh4.26bn, topped by Pakistan which maintained its position as a leading importer of Kenyan tea, accounting for 34.7% of the total export volumes worth Sh70bn.  

Kenya’s tea was shipped to 96 export destinations compared 92 in the year 2023. The ban has caused significant losses to Kenyan tea farmers and exporters.

Other key export destinations for Kenya tea were Egypt whose import volume was 86.90 Million Kgs worth Sh23.96 Billion; UK (57.44 Million Kgs valued at Sh16.99 Billion); UAE (30.50 Million Kgs valued at

Sh10.27 Billion; Russia 28.46 Million Kgs, Sh7.43 Billion); India (17.13 Million Kgs, Sh3.94 Billion); Saudi

Arabia (15.92 Million Kgs, Sh6.02 Billion); Yemen (14.13 Million Kgs, Sh5.52 Billion

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-day period.