Sudan has agreed to clear a consignment of Kenyan tea shipped to the strife-torn country before it imposed a ban on trade in Nairobi on March 11, 2025.
The cargo has been lying at Port Sudan for more than three months with shippers charging the cost of demurrage for the delayed time to return containers.
The East Africa Tea Trade Association (Eatta) has confirmed that they have been given the go-ahead to clear 207 containers of tea with 400 bags each which were in transit and already at the Port Sudan when the ban was effected.
However, Eatta managing director George Omuga has maintained that the window is for a few days and the ban has not been lifted.
“It is a relief after Kenya and Sudan allowed us to clear the consignment but back home we have stockpiles at the port of Mombasa and at different warehouses as we cannot sell the stock to the country due to the existing ban,” said Mr Omuga.
He added, “Sudan primarily imports specific tea grades that are not easily absorbed by other markets. The Mombasa Tea Auction is ongoing but without Sudanese special tea.”
Despite being allowed to clear the containers, tea dealers have expressed concern over the impact of the ban on exporters serving the Sudanese market bracing for cash flow difficulties which will inevitably affect producers and smallholder farmers.
With several containers loaded with special Sudan tea grades, exporters in Mombasa will have to continue paying for the warehouses' costs as specific tea grades cannot be easily redirected to other markets.
“Apart from selling consignment which was on supply chain while the ban was effected, the ongoing ban will significantly impact tea prices and auction sales, exacerbating an already existing market glut at the Mombasa tea auction. Losing Sudan as a top-five export market would deal a major blow to Kenya’s tea industry,” Mr Kariuki Njenga, one of the tea dealers in Mombasa cautioned.
Tea industry players are now calling on Kenya to engage Sudanese authorities to safeguard the livelihoods of hundreds of thousands of farmers and traders who depend on tea.
With the ban being extended after the window to clear tea on the supply chain, Kenyan tea farmers reel as the Sudan ban threatens bonuses and livelihoods. Sudan is ranked among the top 10 markets for Kenyan tea and the standoff could mean a decline in exports impacting trade.
Kenya exports various commodities to Sudan, including tea, food items, and pharmaceutical products.
Tea traders and merchants with active commercial contracts face projected losses of Sh6.5 to 7 billion annually.
The anticipated drop in bonuses, vital for who reaped Sh215.21 billion from tea exports in 2024, has heightened the sense of dread across Kenya’s tea-growing regions.
The ban could flood the Mombasa auction with unsold tea, driving prices lower amid existing pressures from global trends and climate challenges. For now, Kenya’s tea heartlands remain on edge, their bonuses and livelihoods caught in the crossfire of diplomacy gone awry.
