- Sudan has reopened a key market for Kenyan tea exporters after 20 months of restrictions.
- Millions of kilogrammes of tea destined for Sudan remained stranded in Mombasa warehouses.
- Renewed diplomatic engagement has also raised hopes of wider trade and transport links between the two countries.
Sudan has lifted its ban on tea imports from Kenya, reopening a market worth about $70 million a year to Kenyan exporters and farmers.
Minister of Industry and Trade Mahasin Ali Yaqoub signed Ministerial Order No. 25 of 2026 on November 8, 2026. It declares the ban lifted and directs all relevant authorities to implement the decision. The order takes effect from the day it was signed.
Sudan’s leadership cleared the move in stages. According to the order, the Sovereignty Council approved the lifting in a letter dated November 2, 2026. A Cabinet letter dated November 5, 2026, followed on the same matter.
Khartoum imposed the freeze in March 2025. It suspended all imports from Kenya through its airports, seaports and land borders. The decision followed a meeting in Nairobi by the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), the paramilitary group fighting Sudan’s army, to advance a parallel government. Sudan’s military-led administration called Kenya’s hosting of the group an act of hostility. Nairobi rejected the accusation.
For Kenya’s tea sector, the damage was swift and deep. Sudan had ranked among the country’s top five tea destinations, buying roughly 35 million kilogrammes every year. Cargo worth more than $24 million was in transit or awaiting shipment when the ban landed, including 207 containers stuck at the Port of Mombasa.
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Sudan also buys specific grades that other markets absorb poorly. The East Africa Tea Trade Association (EATTA), which runs the Mombasa Tea Auction, says prices for the BP1 grade have never recovered. As of August 2026, more than 3.44 million kilogrammes of tea worth over $10.3 million still sat in Mombasa warehouses. Traders had blended and branded it for Sudanese buyers. A Kenya Tea Development Agency (KTDA) director earlier put the industry’s annual losses at more than Ksh6.5 billion.
Relief had come only in fragments. In June 2025, Sudan let Kenyan dealers clear about 400 bags of tea already at Port Sudan. EATTA stressed at the time that this was a short window, not an end to the ban.
Meanwhile, quiet diplomacy gathered pace. In August 2026, Sudan’s Ambassador to Kenya, Kamal Gubara, held talks with EATTA leaders in Nairobi. Sudan afterwards signalled it was willing to reopen dialogue on trade. By October 28, 2026, Gubara said the process of lifting the ban had reached its final stages. He did not give a date.
Ties are also warming beyond tea. Gubara said Jubba Airways plans direct Nairobi to Khartoum flights in the first week of December 2026, twice a week. The launch still depends on final arrangements.
By Benedict Aoya
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