Stakeholders in the tea sector are appealing to the government to engage with the government of Sudan to allow buyers a window of at least one month to clear the teas that have already been dispatched for Sudan and to mitigate losses to smallholder farmers.
On March 11, 2025, Sudan's Ministry of Trade and Supply indefinitely suspended the importation of products from Kenya in all ports of entry to the war-torn country.
East Africa Tea Trade Association (EATTA) Managing Director George Omuga says that some teas are on the high seas destined for Sudan, adding that there were huge stocks bought for the Sudan market in warehouses that could not be shipped. "We have buyers who have running contracts and have teas lying at Port Sudan.
Several containers of tea already dispatched destined for Sudan are in the high seas, and huge stocks bought for the Sudan market are still in warehouses in Mombasa," stated Omuga during a meeting with tea stakeholders at EATTA offices in Mombasa.
