Kenya- Iran tea trade has been shaken following the US President Donald Trump’s threat to slap a 25 per cent tariff on any country trading with Iran.
The country is set lose more as Tehran has been a prolific tea importer and a strategic security partner of Washington, in an awkward bind.
“Effective immediately, any country doing business with the Islamic Republic of Iran will pay a tariff of 25 per cent on any business being done with the United States of America,” Trump declared on his Truth Social platform.
The message from Washington is blunt: Iran is to be commercially isolated, not merely sanctioned, at a moment when Tehran faces its largest wave of anti-government protests since 1979. Third countries are no longer expected to remain neutral observers. They are being asked to choose.
Nairobi has long balanced modest but lucrative trade with Tehran alongside far deeper political, security and diplomatic ties with Washington. Strategic ambiguity has served it well. But ambiguity is harder to sustain when alignment is demanded.
ALSO READ:
Farmers seek Miraa legal recognition, removal from drugs list
Iran is one of Kenya’s largest tea buyers, often absorbing lower-grade but high-volume tea that struggles to find other markets. In 2023, Kenya exported $48 million (Ksh6.1 billion) worth of goods to Iran, of which tea accounted for $44.8 million (Ksh5.8 billion). Exports to Tehran have grown at an annualised rate of 33 per cent over the past five years.
The trade balance favours Nairobi. Iran exported $28.4 million (Ksh3.6 billion) worth of goods to Kenya in 2023, mainly asphalt mixtures, petroleum coke and pasta.
Yet tea diplomacy has not been smooth. In mid-2025, Tehran imposed a ban on Kenyan tea after a scandal involving a Kenyan firm, Cup of Joe, accused of exporting blended low-grade tea falsely marketed as premium Kenyan produce. The ban rattled exporters and bruised trust, though both governments moved quickly to establish a joint committee to resolve the dispute.
By Juma Ndigo
Get more stories from our website: Sacco Review.
For comments and clarifications, write to: Saccoreview@shrendpublishers.co.ke
Kindly follow us via our social media pages on Facebook: Sacco Review Newspaper for timely updates
Stay ahead of the pack! Grab the latest Sacco Review newspaper!