Bomet ‘to start exporting tea to Iran’ following deal

Bomet County could soon start exporting tea directly to Iran following a deal with the Islamic Republic’s embassy in Nairobi.

Iranian ambassador to Kenya Jafar Marmaki said investors in his country have been attempting to get direct access to Kenyan tea for years.

The export of tea to Iran dropped to 532,715 kilogrammes in 2019 from 590,111 the previous year.

“Iran produces tea but Kenya’s is one of the best in the world. Very few Iranians can afford Kenyan tea because of its taste and quality. If I need Kenyan tea, I have to order from Europe and that makes it unaffordable to many Iranians,” Mr Marmaki said at the embassy on Wednesday.

The ambassador added lack of connectivity between banks in the two countries has also affected trade even though there is a direct shipping line between Iranian ports and Mombasa.

Bulk buyers

Kenyan tea in Iran is sold by bulk buyers from outside the country.

“Iran mostly gets quality tea from Sri Lanka and India,” the diplomat added.

Bomet produces 350,000 tonnes of black tea annually.  Iranians consume more than 120,000 tonnes of black tea every year.

“Tea production is one of the main economic activities of Bomet County but we have been having problems with marketing,” Governor Hillary Barchok said.

“Sometimes we produce a lot but it goes to waste. We want to tap into the lucrative Iranian market.”

The county earns about Sh9 billion from tea every year.

Dr Barchok said almost 75 per cent of small-scale producers do not earn much from their tea due to post-harvest losses or low prices.

“Many farmers are so discouraged that they have been switching to other crops,” he said, adding that the growers need to be freed from exploitation.

Auction

“Instead of taking our tea to Mombasa for auction, we want to package it so that it gets straight to Iran.”

The governor said discussions are on at national level to change some regulations governing the marketing of tea.

“But even as we do that, we cannot wait because the talks may take long,” he said.

Mr Barchok added that his administration would invest in a support programme to enable Bomet meet the tea standards set by Iran.

“We would like to know what Iran really wants. We are open to suggestions and guidelines based on the requirements of your market,” he told Mr Marmaki.

He said Bomet can also sell avocados and onions to Iran.

Mr Marmaki said his country would use the Commonwealth of Independent States treaty to push for the importation of Kenyan tea through Iran.

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