Kenya to Send 3rd Tea Delegation to Iran Despite Row with US

A Kenyan tea trade delegation will next month, February, head to Iran in a bid to hold on to Tehran’s market for exporting Kenyan tea.

The Asian country has been a key market for Kenya’s tea with Kenya selling about 20 percent of all its tea to Iran. In the last 5 years, Kenya’s tea exports have increased from 2 million kilos to 10 million kilos.

The delegation will, therefore, travel to Iran to solidify the Asian market despite the growing tensions between Iran and the US, also a key ally.

The director general of Agriculture and Food Authority (AFA) Anthony Muriithi has said that Iran remains one of Kenya’s key markets and the demand for the beverage is still high in that country. Therefore, it is in Kenya’s best interest to solidify its relations with Iran.

So far, Kenya has sent two delegations to Iran to promote its tea; one in 2017 and the second in November 2019.

The delegation, expected to land in Iran in February, will be meeting both government officials and members of the Iranian Tea Association.

There have been growing tensions between the US and Iran, especially after the US carried a missile strike in Baghdad and killed an Iranian military commander.

This has been followed by the US imposing sanctions on Iran and consequently making trading with Iran an expensive affair.

For example, tea destined for Iran and payments from Iran has to pass through a third-party country such as Dubai, because most banks are afraid of trading with Iran directly for fears of retaliation from the US.

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