(MOMBASA) – Rwanda’s tea sector has extended its lead at the Mombasa Tea Auction, a development that offers useful lessons for South Sudan as it works to build a non-oil export economy. According to the latest market data, Rwandan tea sold at an average of $2.81 per kilogramme, outperforming Kenya’s $2.20 and Uganda’s $1.26 per kilogramme at the region’s main tea trading centre.
Industry figures link Rwanda’s strong showing to steady quality, an efficient supply chain and rising demand from international buyers looking for premium teas. This performance comes at a time when South Sudan is actively seeking models to grow its agricultural exports and reduce dependence on oil revenues. Tea is not grown commercially in South Sudan, but the lessons from Rwanda’s success are relevant for planners looking at crops such as coffee, sesame and gum arabic.
The Mombasa Tea Auction, the world’s largest black CTC (crush, tear, curl) tea auction and the central price setting hub for East African teas, has seen Rwanda extend its lead in prices, a development that offers useful lessons for South Sudan as it works to build a non-oil export economy. The auction, managed by the East Africa Tea Trade Association, handles the produce of more than ten African nations with prices benchmarked globally in US dollars. According to the latest market data, Rwandan tea sold at an average of $2.81 per kilogramme, outperforming Kenya’s $2.20 and Uganda’s $1.26 per kilogramme.
The auction data reveals growing difficulties for Kenya, which has traditionally been the anchor seller at the Mombasa auction. Kenya’s tea traded at $2.20 per kilo, a price that reflects mounting cost pressures. The introduction of a new export levy by the Kenyan government in May 2026 has made its tea more expensive for international buyers. This levy has been felt most keenly by teas sold through the Kenya Tea Development Agency from the West and East Rift growing zones. While transit tea remains free from the charge, Kenya recorded some of the highest volumes of unsold tea this year as customers shifted towards cheaper options from rival countries.
Traders at the auction say the higher cost of Kenyan tea has reduced its appeal in key export destinations, raising worry among farmers, exporters and other industry players. Tea Buyers Association chairman Peter Kimanga warned that the levy would eventually cut farmer earnings by pushing up costs along the entire tea value chain. He said that since the start of May, KTDA, which manages more than 60 percent of all Kenyan tea sold through the auction, has been paying large sums in export levies each week.
Mr Kimanga explained that tea exporters now pay about Ksh80,000 ($618) in levy charges for every container before the tea can leave Kenya. A Kenyan shilling was equivalent to approximately 0.0077 US dollars at the time of reporting. For South Sudanese traders, the same container levy would represent about 3,584,400 South Sudanese Pounds at the prevailing market rate of $1 to 5,800 SSP. Such costs, Mr Kimanga said, will be passed back to farmers through smaller returns and lower bonus payments if the government does not suspend the levy.
Pakistan, one of the largest buyers of Kenyan tea, has formally raised concerns about the levy. Mr Kimanga noted that Pakistani buyers had protested because the charge only applies to Kenyan tea. Buyers will naturally compare prices and choose tea from other countries. Kenya’s tea remains among the best in quality, he said, but it risks becoming too costly in the market.
The requirement that all levies be settled before tea is shipped has placed extra strain on exporters already facing rising freight, insurance and finance costs. Kenya’s Agriculture Cabinet Secretary Mutahi Kagwe has defended the levy as part of wider reforms meant to raise farmer incomes. The government aims to double earnings for small scale farmers and lift green leaf prices to Ksh100 ($0.77) per kilo by 2027. In South Sudanese Pound terms, that target green leaf price equals around 4,466 SSP per kilo.
The latest auction report shows that Sale 22 recorded the sharpest rise in unsold tea this year. Only 9.19 million kilogrammes out of 12.52 million kilogrammes offered found buyers. This left 27 percent of the tea unsold, the highest level recorded since January. The trend has been worsening in recent weeks, with Sale 20 registering 22 percent unsold tea and Sale 21 recording 23 percent.
East African Tea Trade Association managing director George Omuga said the industry is facing logistics problems due to the Middle East crisis, which has raised transport costs and upset shipping schedules. He added that the new export levy had increased the cost of doing business and weakened demand for tea at the auction.
While Kenya struggles with these challenges, Southern African tea producers, namely Tanzania, Malawi and Mozambique, continue to avoid the Mombasa auction completely. They prefer to sell their teas through brokers and direct trade deals with international buyers. Analysts have cautioned that unless Kenya tackles rising export costs and logistics blockages, it risks losing market share to regional competitors offering lower prices.
For South Sudan, which relies heavily on imports including tea from Kenya and Uganda, shifts in regional commodity pricing can affect local retail markets. A sustained rise in East African tea export costs could eventually filter into consumer prices in Juba and other towns.
More broadly, the situation at Mombasa implies agricultural export strategies must account for quality, cost control and logistics from the very beginning. Rwanda’s premium focused approach and Kenya’s cost related difficulties offer two contrasting roadmaps for the future ss South Sudan develops its own agricultural trade policies.