Wamuchomba demands suspension of tea levy as farmer bonuses collapse

The Githunguri MP says the 0.8 per cent export tax is crushing smallholder farmers already battered by falling auction prices and a KSh30B factory debt crisis

By John Kariuki

Githunguri MP Gathoni Wamuchomba yesterday called for the immediate suspension of the 0.8 per cent Tea Export Levy, warning that the tax — introduced on 1 May 2026 — is accelerating a crisis that threatens the livelihoods of more than 650,000 smallholder farmers and the six million Kenyans who depend on the sector.

Wamuchomba said farmers were misled when the levy was introduced, having been assured that exporters would absorb the cost. That assurance, she said, has proved hollow, with the burden being pushed back to growers through reduced buying prices and shrinking bonuses.

The pain is already measurable. Rukuriri Tea Factory in Embu declared a bonus of KSh50 per kilogramme yesterday, down from KSh57.50 last year. Ngere Tea Factory declared KSh48 — among the lowest in recent memory. At the Mombasa Tea Auction, Kenyan tea that should fetch a minimum of USD 2.60 per kilogramme is reportedly being sold for as little as USD 1.35, a near-50 per cent discount passed directly to the farmer.

Compounding the crisis is a debt burden exceeding KSh30B across Kenya Tea Development Agency-managed factories, flagged in a 2026 Tea Board of Kenya audit. Wamuchomba also warned that Kapseret Tea Factory faces possible closure.

She issued five demands to Agriculture Cabinet Secretary Mutahi Kagwe: suspend the levy pending impact assessment, restore key export markets including Pakistan — which accounts for over 40 per cent of Kenya’s tea exports — publish the factory debt audit, eliminate port delays driving up demurrage costs, and commission an independent review of the 2025/2026 bonus decline.

The Ministry of Agriculture had not responded by the time of going to press.

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