The value of Kenyan tea bought by Pakistan rose 10.6 percent in the six months to June, extending the Asian nation’s dominance as the biggest buyer of the drink from the East African nation and helping to offset falling sales to other major buyers.
New data from the Central Bank of Kenya shows that Kenyan tea exports to Pakistan amounted to $271.86 million (Sh35.06 billion) between January and June, a significant increase from $245.7 million (Sh31.6 billion) during the same period in 2023.
With this, the Asian country increased its share of Kenya’s tea export revenues to 40.6%, compared to 38% last year, which means that Kenya is increasingly dependent on a single market for its tea wealth.
Pakistan has traditionally been the main buyer of Kenyan tea due to the country’s large population and social affinity for tea. But over the years Kenya has been looking to enter other markets such as Iran, Kazakhstan and Russia to reduce its reliance on sales to Islamabad.
But even as Pakistan expanded its share of Kenyan tea exports, sales of the popular drink fell sharply in other key markets, particularly in the United Arab Emirates, where sales fell 34.6 percent to $35.62 million (Sh4.5 billion).
Sales to Afghanistan and Iran also fell by 76.8 percent to $14.14 million (Sh1.8 billion) and 30 percent to $23.35 million (Sh3 billion) respectively, central bank data showed.
Other major markets where demand for Kenyan tea fell include Egypt (2.1 percent to $93.34 million (Sh12 billion)), Sudan (68.6 percent to $3.7 million (Sh477 million)) and Ireland (14.7 percent to $10.15 million (Sh1.3 billion)).
Despite the poor performance of key markets, Kenya earned $668 million (Sh86.1 billion) from tea exports during the six-month period, a 4.2 percent increase compared to $641 million (Sh82.6 billion) last year.
Besides Pakistan, Saudi Arabia emerged as a major buyer of the beverage from Kenya, buying $30.94 million (Sh4 billion) worth of tea. This represents a 74.7 percent increase compared to the $7.8 million (Sh1 billion) it bought during the same period last year.
Sales to Russia and the United States rose by 53.7% and 99% respectively, while emerging markets increased their purchases by 28.6%.
“Geopolitical tensions,” said George Umoja, director general of the East African Tea Trade Association (EATTA), when asked why sales to markets such as Iran, Sudan and Afghanistan were underperforming.
Tea is Kenya’s main cash crop and a major source of foreign exchange for the country. Green tea leaves destined for the export market are sold to buyers at the Mombasa tea auction in US dollars.
The auction, which brings together tea from across the East African region, is organised by the EATTA Association.
Globally, Kenya is the third largest producer of tea in the world after China, which tops the list, and India.
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