Githunguri MP Hon. Gathoni Wamuchomba addresses journalists in Nairobi on Thursday, October 8, 2026, where she called for the suspension of the 0.8 per cent tea export levy amid declining farmers’ bonuses and mounting debts in the tea sector.
By Mary Ndanu
NAIROBI, Thursday
Githunguri MP Gathoni Wamuchomba has called for the immediate suspension of the 0.8 per cent tea export levy, warning that the measure is worsening an already fragile tea sector and threatening the livelihoods of millions of Kenyans.
Speaking in Nairobi today, Wamuchomba, who chairs the National Assembly Coffee and Tea Caucus, said declining bonuses declared by Kenya Tea Development Agency (KTDA)-managed factories for the 2025/2026 financial year had exposed deep-rooted financial problems facing the sector.
She said the tea industry supports about 6.5 million Kenyans directly involved in the value chain, while tea earned the country more than Sh215 billion in 2025, including approximately Sh181 billion from exports.
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The legislator also said that small-scale tea farmers, who own 71 KTDA-managed factories, account for about 52 per cent of the country’s tea production, making the sector critical to rural economies.
Wamuchomba confirmed that the 0.8 per cent tea export levy, which came into effect on May 1, 2026, had introduced an additional burden on farmers at a time when tea prices and bonuses were already declining.
“Although farmers were assured that the levy would be borne by exporters, concerns have emerged that the cost is now being transferred back to farmers through reduced buying prices,” she said.
She also noted that Kenyan tea was facing stiff competition from Uganda, Rwanda and Burundi, while declining demand and unsold stocks at the Mombasa auction were further depressing prices.
According to Wamuchomba, tea that previously fetched between USD2 and USD2.60 per kilogram had in some cases fallen to as low as USD1.35, severely affecting farmers’ earnings.
She said some KTDA-managed factories were now declaring bonuses as low as Sh11 and Sh16 per kilogram, compared with historical payments of between Sh80 and Sh90.
She cited Rokerere Tea Factory, which she said paid Sh50 per kilogram this year compared with Sh57.50 last year, despite having previously paid as much as Sh90 per kilogram.
The MP also cited Kabage Tea Factory in Githunguri, saying farmers who traditionally received between Sh70 and Sh78 per kilogram were now set to receive Sh35.
Wamuchomba attributed the declining bonuses partly to heavy indebtedness among tea factories, saying an audit commissioned by the Ministry of Agriculture and conducted through the Tea Board of Kenya had revealed loans totalling about Sh34 billion.
She said the loans had accumulated since June 2022, with some factories borrowing money to pay farmers’ bonuses.
Wamuchomba warned that some farmers in Meru and Embu had already started uprooting tea bushes due to mounting financial pressure, while heavily indebted factories risked closure and auctioning if urgent intervention was not taken.
She said the audit showed Capcoros Tea Factories had the highest outstanding loan at Sh2.77 billion, followed by Liten in Rift Valley at Sh1.881 billion, Mogoshiek at Sh1.60 billion, Kapset at Sh1.47 billion and Tegat at Sh1.32 billion.
Other heavily indebted factories, she said, included Tombe, Chebut, Nyankoba, Sagani, Tirgaga and Nyansiongo.
Wamuchomba questioned whether allocating 50 per cent of the tea export levy proceeds towards a price stabilisation fund would provide adequate relief to farmers facing immediate financial challenges.
She called on the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock Development to suspend the levy pending a comprehensive assessment of its impact on tea prices, exports and farmers’ earnings.
She further urged the Government to urgently restore lost export markets, particularly Iran, Sudan and Pakistan, saying tea stocks were piling up at the Mombasa auction.
“Tea is piling up. As the tea piles up, the quality goes down and our bargaining power is eroded,” she said.
Wamuchomba also called for the publication of the tea factory audit report and the development of clear restructuring and recovery plans for heavily indebted factories.
She proposed a debt waiver programme for struggling tea factories similar to measures previously implemented to support indebted coffee farmers.
The legislator also called for the elimination of port delays, system failures and administrative bottlenecks that expose tea exporters to additional costs at the Port of Mombasa.
She said an independent assessment should be undertaken to establish the extent to which the export levy contributed to the decline in tea prices and farmers’ bonuses.
Turning to the coffee sector, Wamuchomba raised concerns over the ownership and management of the Nairobi Coffee Exchange (NCE), warning that billions of shillings belonging to coffee farmers were at risk if the Government failed to address what she termed regulatory and ownership gaps.
She said the National Assembly Coffee and Tea Caucus discovered in 2023 that NCE was a private company despite handling coffee traded on behalf of farmers.
According to Wamuchomba, the Attorney General subsequently issued an advisory recommending changes to the structure of NCE and the creation of a government-oriented entity to handle farmers’ money.
She questioned why the recommendations had not been implemented since 2023.
Wamuchomba demanded that NCE be transformed into an entity owned and controlled by coffee farmers, arguing that this would enhance accountability and safeguard their earnings.
She said the exchange handles more than Sh300 billion belonging to coffee farmers and called for urgent action before the 2027 General Election.
She urged President William Ruto and the Ministry of Agriculture to intervene urgently, warning that the collapse of tea factories would hurt rural economies and remove a critical source of employment and income for thousands of households.