Sudan lifts 20-month ban on Kenyan tea imports

Sudan has lifted its 20-month ban on Kenyan tea imports, President William Ruto announced on his official X account, the Kenya Broadcasting Corporation (KBC) reported on 11 November 2026. Ruto said Kenya "welcomes and appreciates this decision, which reopens an important market for our tea".

Ruto said the decision followed his talks with Sudan's Prime Minister, Professor Kamil Idris, on the sidelines of the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) Heads of State and Government Summit in Harare, Zimbabwe. The summit was held on 22 October.

Citizen Digital and The Star reported that the restriction was ended by Ministerial Order No. 25 of 2026, issued by Sudan's Ministry of Industry and Trade on 8 November 2026 and signed by Minister Mahasin Ali Yaqoub. The order took effect immediately. It followed approval from Sudan's Sovereignty Council, in a letter dated 2 November 2026, and a Cabinet communication dated 5 November 2026.

Ruto also said: "This progress demonstrates what dialogue and constructive diplomacy can achieve."

Sudan imposed the ban in March 2025 after a diplomatic rift between the two countries. The reversal followed a high-level Kenyan diplomatic mission to Sudan, which a senior Kenyan government official called "economic-intelligence-led diplomacy" aimed at addressing trade barriers and securing market access for Kenyan products.

The Star said Sudan has historically bought about 35 million kilograms of Kenyan tea a year, worth roughly US$70 million (KSh 9 billion). When the ban began, tea worth more than US$24 million (KSh 3.1 billion) was in transit or awaiting shipment, and 207 forty-foot containers were stranded at the Port of Mombasa.

According to the Tea Board of Kenya, as quoted by KBC, export volumes fell from 20 million kilograms to 8.7 million kilograms during the restriction, and earnings from KSh 4.5 billion to KSh 1.93 billion. The board said lifting the ban offers renewed opportunities to restore export volumes, recover earnings and expand market access for Kenyan tea.

Tea is a major Kenyan agricultural export that supports millions of livelihoods and earns foreign exchange. Citizen Digital said smallholder farmers and other players in the tea value chain could benefit from improved market access, and that the scale and pace of the recovery will depend on commercial arrangements between exporters and Sudanese buyers.

The order provides the legal clearance authorities need to facilitate imports, but does not give expected tea volumes or values, or a date when shipments will resume.