Kenya and Iran have agreed to form a joint committee within the next 60 days to remove trade barriers, paving the way for the resumption of Kenyan tea exports to the Middle Eastern nation.

• The agreement was reached during the 7th Session of the Kenya–Iran Joint Commission for Cooperation (JCC) in Nairobi on Tuesday.
• The ban was triggered by a criminal trade malpractice involving a Kenyan firm that imported low-grade tea, blended it, and re-exported it as high-grade Kenyan tea to Iran.
• Prior to the incident, tea exports to Iran grew from 3.2 metric tonnes valued at $5 million (Sh645 million) in 2020 to 13 metric tonnes valued at $33 million (Sh4.25 billion) in 2024.
• Prime Cabinet Secretary Musalia Mudavadi and Iran’s Minister of Agriculture Dr Gholamreza Nouri Ghezalcheh co-chaired the JCC.
• Agriculture Cabinet Secretary Mutahi Kagwe stated that both governments will introduce stringent regulations to safeguard the integrity of Kenyan tea exports.