Kenya’s 2026 Tea Levy Explained: What It Means for Farmers’ Income
The Tea Levy Regulations, 2025, under section 53 of the Tea Act, 2020, establish a new levy system signed by the Cabinet Secretary for Agriculture and Livestock Development, Mutahi Kagwe.
An announcement on the changes to the tea levy for 2026 was made by the CS on April 2, following his April 1 announcement on the Tea Levy Regulations, 2026.
According to the CS, the changes in the levy were aimed at reforming the target to Sh100 per kg green leaf by 2027.
“The Government is in the process of implementing a raft of measures in the tea industry in a bid to double smallholder farmers’ earnings to Sh. 100 per kilo of Greenleaf by the year 2027,” Mutahi Kagwe stated during the release of the 2025 Kenya Tea Industry Performance Report at the Rukuriri Tea Factory in Embu County.
During his announcement, the CS further explained that imposing restrictions on the payment of the levy at the ports of import and export would ensure that low-quality tea does not enter the Kenyan market.
Additionally, the CS argued that the levy implementations were consumer-friendly and would not create any financial burden to small-scale farmers.
However, the rollout of the 0.8% levy on exports from 1% and the 100% levy on imports, which were to take effect on May 1, has not been gazetted despite the 30-day gazettement deadline.
With the rollout, the Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) is set to collect the 0.8% export levy on tea shipments on behalf of the Tea Board of Kenya.
Tea Levy Rates
For any tea sold through action, the new levy applies a 1% charge to the auction value.
However, if the tea being sold is blended with non-Kenyan portions, the 1% levy applies only to the customs value of the Kenyan tea component.
Every consignment of non-Kenyan tea will be required to pay 100% of the import value.
Further, the 100% rate applies to tea diverted from export processing zones (EPZs) and special economic zones (SEZs), as well as to tea auctioned into the Kenyan domestic market.
SRC: https://thekenyatimes.com/explainers/tea-levy-tax-tbk-funds/
