Gov’t Take-Over: Kenyan Tea Farmers Feel Ksh536M Pinch

Tea export volumes from Kenya to Afghanistan fell 52% on the back of political upheaval which saw the Táliban take control of the country. Data from the Tea Directorate indicates that the volume of tea exported to Afghanistan dropped to 1.3 million kilogrames in the eight months to August from 3.8 million kilogrammes in the corresponding period last year.

Earnings from the tea exports fell Ksh536 million, from Ksh824 million in the review period last year to Ksh234 million in 2021.

The biggest drop-off in export volumes was witnessed in July, weeks before the Taliban took the capital, Kabul. At the time, US and British troops were preparing to leave Kabul.

Having taken control of most major cities, the Taliban entered Kabul on August 15, 2021 causing then Afghan President Ashraf Ghani to flee the country and the Afghan government to collapse.

Importantly, however, Kenyan tea has been able to access the Afghan market even after the take-over via the open Pakistan border. The East African Tea Traders Association (Eatta) revealed in August that Afghanistan was still getting the bulk of its tea from Pakistan, the leading buyer of Kenya’s tea.

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“There have been no disruptions at all on our exports to Afghanistan because exporters are getting their payments well and Kabul itself can get tea from Pakistan because of the open border,” Eatta Managing Director Edward Mudibo stated.

Tea represents over 50 percent of Kenya’s exports to Afghanistan.

The United Nations COMTRADE database reveals that Kenya’s tea exports to Afghanistan in 2020 were valued just north of Ksh3.6 billion.

Worryingly for farmers, however, tea export earnings from Afghanistan have been on a steady decline from highs of Sh14 billion in 2012.

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