Kenya Seeks Bigger Slice of U.S. Market for Tea and Macadamia

Key Highlights

• Agriculture CS Mutahi Kagwe is leading a U.S. trade mission to secure direct market access for Kenyan farm produce.
• Talks with Walmart aim to place Kenyan tea and macadamia on shelves across 40,000 U.S. outlets.
• Kenya’s macadamia, grown by 200,000 smallholder farmers, highlighted as premium and chemical-free with a tariff advantage.
• KTDA pitched value-added teas—green, orthodox, and purple tea—for freshness, traceability, and better farmer returns.
• Engagements planned with U.S. government departments, state officials, and the North America Tea Conference.
• Meeting with Milo’s Tea Company explored boosting Kenya’s tea share in the U.S., currently at only 2 percent.
• U.S.-Kenya agricultural trade hit USD 1.5 billion in 2024, with tea, coffee, and macadamia as key exports.

Kenya has intensified efforts to expand its agricultural footprint in the United States, with Agriculture and Livestock Development Cabinet Secretary Mutahi Kagwe spearheading a week-long trade mission. The visit seeks to unlock direct market access for Kenyan tea, macadamia nuts, and other farm products in America’s vast retail chains.

On the first stop, Kagwe’s delegation met with retail giant Walmart, which operates more than 40,000 outlets across the U.S. Discussions centered on placing Kenyan produce directly on store shelves, bypassing middlemen.

MACNUT CEO Jane Maigua showcased Kenya’s macadamia as a high-quality product, grown naturally by over 200,000 smallholder farmers. She noted Kenya’s favorable 10 percent duty compared to South Africa’s 30 percent, alongside the nut’s consistent supply and world-renowned buttery flavor.

Leaders from the Kenya Tea Development Agency (KTDA), including Geoffrey Kirundi and Wilson Muthaura, emphasized Kenya’s ability to package tea at source—ensuring freshness, traceability, and better earnings for growers.

Kenya, the world’s top exporter of black tea, is also pushing value-added varieties such as green, orthodox, and purple tea. The latter, a Kenyan innovation, is gaining recognition for its health benefits and premium prices.

The mission will also include high-level engagements with the U.S. Departments of Commerce and Agriculture, the Governor of South Carolina, and private-sector players. Additionally, the delegation will participate in the North America Tea Conference, where sustainability will be in focus.

In South Carolina, Kagwe held talks with Milo’s Tea Company, the leading iced tea producer in the U.S., joined by Presidential Advisor on Commodities Phylis Kandie and tea industry representatives. The meeting explored ways to boost Kenya’s modest 2 percent share of U.S. tea imports.

The initiative reflects Kenya’s strategy to pursue direct-to-shelf exports, strengthen supply chains, and increase farmer incomes. Agriculture already anchors trade between the two countries, with coffee, tea, macadamia, and fruits leading Kenya’s exports. Much of this trade benefits from the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA), which grants duty-free access.

In 2024, total goods trade between the U.S. and Kenya stood at USD 1.5 billion. U.S. exports to Kenya reached USD 782.5 million, while imports from Kenya totaled USD 737.3 million, leaving Washington with a USD 45.2 million surplus.

Tea and coffee remain Kenya’s biggest exports to the U.S., while soybean oil, peas, and sorghum top imports into Kenya.

Both nations are now eyeing deeper cooperation, with Kenya pushing for a potential U.S.-Kenya Free Trade Area that could further open opportunities for agricultural products on both sides.