NAIROBI, Kenya, Feb 2 — A German delegation is in Kenya for a week-long tour of the country’s Orthodox tea industry, aimed at deepening bilateral trade ties and boosting tea imports, the State Department for Trade under the Ministry of Investments, Trade and Industry said.
The visit began at Gatura Greens in Gatanga, Murang’a County, a purple tea farm, where the delegation was taken through the full tea value chain, from cultivation to processing and packaging.
The tour provided the visitors a firsthand view of Kenya’s tea production methods, strict quality assurance standards, and innovative tea varieties, including the increasingly popular purple tea.
“Kenya is using this visit to position itself as a dependable source of high-quality, sustainably produced tea, while building direct relationships with potential buyers from Germany,” the State Department for Trade said.
Officials said the program is part of Kenya’s broader strategy to strengthen its position as a global supplier of premium tea, foster direct relationships between producers and buyers, and expand exports to Europe.
The initiative is expected to create opportunities for value addition and long-term trade partnerships, particularly in niche segments such as Orthodox and herbal teas.
The Kenyan delegation is led by Peter Chege, Head of the Tea Value Chain at the State Department for Trade, while the German delegation is headed by Maximilian Wittig, Secretary General of the German Tea and Herbal Infusion Association.
Kenya remains the world’s leading exporter of black tea, supplying over 23 per cent of the global market.
It ranks as the third-largest tea producer overall after China and India, with its industry primarily centered on high-quality Crush-Tear-Curl (CTC) tea, processed for global tea bags.
