South Africa has eased restrictions on Kenyan tea exports that were imposed in response to Kenya’s tariffs on steel imports from Africa’s most industrialised economy.

Kenyan tea exports to South Africa had been subject to high tariffs and stringent phytosanitary requirements, resulting in subdued trade flows.

But during President William Ruto’s state visit, South Africa lifted the barriers, effectively unlocking trade between the two economies.

In 2025, Kenya imported goods worth $585 million from South Africa, while exports to South Africa stood at $54.4 million, leaving the East African economy with a sizeable trade deficit.“Because Kenya had imposed a tariff on our steel, we in South Africa decided to reciprocate by putting barriers on Kenyan tea coming into South Africa. Earlier today we said no, it is time to stop this nonsense. We have discussed today how we should allow more Kenyan tea to come into South Africa as part of measures aimed at reducing the trade deficit between the two countries,” President Cyril Ramaphosa said at a business forum.“We are aware that there still are some tariff and non-tariff barriers that constrain trade between our two countries. This visit has provided us with an opportunity to explore some of those areas so that we can straighten them (out) and make it much easier and less restrictive for our businesspeople to do what they do best, which is to trade and connect people to goods,” President Ruto said.

Ramaphosa said the decision to relax restrictions on Kenyan tea was informed by Kenya’s position as South Africa’s largest trading partner outside the Southern African Development Community (SADC), underscoring the need for stronger bilateral ties.“Among the outcomes we seek is substantial growth in the volume and value of trade between Kenya and South Africa. Since 2022, total trade between the two countries has grown by an average of 3.5 percent a year, and we should be achieving a higher growth rate because Kenya remains South Africa’s largest trading partner outside the SADC community,” Ramaphosa said.

“In terms of exports, we might be well placed, but we still have massive work to do in Kenya. Intra-regional trade growth in East Africa is rising by between 30 and 40 percent annually, making it the most trade-integrated part of the continent,” said Stanbic Bank Regional CEO Joshua Oigara.“Stanbic Bank is currently working with the Kenya Tea Development Agency (KTDA), financing 700,000 farmers and enabling them to produce higher-quality tea for stronger global competitiveness.”The lifting of restrictions on the tea exports comes as Kenya seeks to diversify its export markets amid geopolitical tensions in the Middle East, which have weakened demand from Iran, a key destination market.

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