Kenyan tea exporters are paying up to eight times more to fly consignments to the United Kingdom as crippling delays at Mombasa port force them to protect contracts and safeguard the country’s reputation in the global tea trade.

Tea Buyers Association chairman Peter Kimanga said exporters had little choice but to use air freight to avoid being branded unreliable suppliers in the UK market.“Currently, we are paying $2 per kilo to transport tea to the UK compared to $0.25 when shipping by sea. The costs are unbearable, but we have no choice as demand during this season in the UK is very high,” Mr Kimanga said.

He added that dealers were incurring losses but had to absorb them to sustain the market.“The UK market is very sensitive, and once we fail to supply on time, the country will be categorised as an irregular supplier, which will affect future tea sales. We need to protect the UK market after losing the Sudan and Iran markets,” he said.

Port delays biteThe association is also struggling to import packaging materials, with some consignments stuck at Mombasa port for more than three weeks due to congestion.

Kenya is a leading supplier of tea to the UK, exporting about $138.5 million worth in 2024, a significant share of the UK’s black tea imports. While Pakistan remains Kenya’s largest buyer, the UK continues to be a stable and strategic market.

However, exporters say poor coordination among port authorities, shippers, government agencies, cargo owners, freight forwarders and inland transport operators has worsened congestion, now at its peak.

“KPA and KRA have unveiled joint measures aimed at reducing cargo dwell time and expediting customs clearance,” said Kenya Ports Authority managing director William Ruto, referring to joint operations with Kenya Railways Corporation.“The interventions are part of a broader government strategy to improve cargo evacuation, particularly for long-stay containers, and reinforce the Northern Corridor’s competitiveness as the region’s primary trade artery,” he told The EastAfrican.

Shipping costs riseOn average, more than 500 empty containers remain on trucks daily, waiting to be offloaded due to limited space at the six empty container depots. Shipping lines are paying more than $38,497 a day for unattended vessels.

Since October last year, Mombasa port has experienced persistent delays, with about 20 vessels waiting at any given time as disputes continue over responsibility for the inefficiencies.

The rising cost of cargo delivery has shifted vessel patterns, with shippers increasingly preferring Dar es Salaam over Mombasa. Previously, most vessels docked in Mombasa before proceeding to Tanzania, but delays have reversed that trend.

The Kenya Ships Agents Association says hiring a vessel costs an average of Ksh4.4 million ($34,000) a day, excluding fuel, insurance and maintenance, further inflating freight costs across the region.“Port congestion at Mombasa continues to place heavy operational and financial pressure on shipping lines. When vessels remain idle for extended periods, costs escalate rapidly, with crew costs also rising as delays extend working time and welfare obligations,” said KSAA chief executive Elijah Mbaru.

Bottlenecks persistMombasa port has been handling increased cargo volumes, but inadequate yards, depots, handling terminals and scanners have compounded the congestion.

At the Port Reitz cargo exit station, a rail-mounted scanner has been out of service for two months, delaying cargo processing for Kenya Railways and the Kenya Revenue Authority destined for the Standard Gauge Railway.

Containers are now scanned at the Nairobi Inland Container Depot, where only two of four drive-through scanners are operational, worsening congestion.

Despite interventions by KPA and KRA, decongestion efforts have largely failed.

In November last year, the agencies directed importers with long-stay containerised cargo to clear local consignments at container freight stations in Mombasa, while transit cargo was to be cleared at Nairobi or Naivasha inland depots. The directive was not implemented.

Long-stay cargo was to be moved to customs-licensed peripheral facilities, while cargo destined for Nairobi and other upcountry markets was to be railed to the Nairobi ICD for clearance.

To free up space, KRA was to identify cargo for auction and move approved consignments for destruction to licensed sites. The authority also planned to geofence Gate 24 to allow transit cargo exit alongside Gates 18 and 20.

For round-the-clock operations, cargo handlers were instructed to harmonise working hours and shift management to ensure seamless processing. This, too, has yet to be implemented.

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