The Kenya Kwanza government promised that the amount of processed tea leaving Kenya would move up from 5% to 50% in five years. Additionally, his ten-year plan was for Kenya to be processing all the tea produced here.
The Ministry of Agriculture aims to increase orthodox (specialty) tea processing capacity from 15,000 tons in 2025 to 200,000 tons by 2030.
While the government maintains its commitment to the 50% target, the actual progress remains in the early infrastructure and policy phase. The sector currently faces significant headwinds from global market volatility and regional payment disparities that have led to farmer protests in the West Rift region
On the 6th of January 2023, the Tea Amendment Bill 2023 was published which seeks to amend certain provisions in the Tea Bill 2020 in an effort to liberate the tea industry in Kenya.
The Kenya Kwanza government has affirmed that it has factored in key tax incentives in the 2025/2026 Finance Bill, including the removal of excise duty on tea packaging materials and the elimination of VAT on value-added tea exports.
