Kenya Seeks Direct Entry to U.S. Agricultural Market to Boost Farmer Earnings
Kenya is pushing to gain direct access to the U.S. market for its agricultural exports, bypassing middlemen and cutting down on compliance barriers.
The effort is part of ongoing negotiations between Kenyan trade and agricultural officials and their U.S. counterparts. The goal is to streamline certification processes—especially sanitary and phytosanitary requirements—so that commodities like tea, coffee, fruits and flowers can move from Kenyan farms directly to U.S. buyers.
According to state media reports, one key driver of the push is to ensure that Kenyan farmers earn a larger share of export value, rather than losing margins to intermediaries in transit countries.
During a trade mission to the United States, Cabinet Secretary for Agriculture and Livestock Development, Mutahi Kagwe, led a delegation that met with major U.S. retail and trade stakeholders. On the first leg of the tour, the team held discussions with Walmart to pitch Kenyan tea, macadamia nuts, and other farm produce.
Representatives from the Kenya Tea Development Agency (KTDA) and MacNut Kenya also participated. MacNut CEO Jane Maigua emphasized Kenya’s capacity to produce macadamia without chemicals across over 200,000 smallholder farms, noting the country’s competitive tariff advantage—10 percent duty compared to 30 percent for South African imports. She further highlighted Kenya’s reliable supply capacity and the premium taste profile of its nuts.
KTDA executives, including Geoffrey Kirundi and Wilson Muthaura, made the case for sourcing and packaging tea in Kenya to enhance freshness, traceability and farmer returns. They also stressed Kenya’s intention to expand exports of value-added teas such as green, orthodox, and the uniquely Kenyan “purple tea,” which commands a health-conscious premium.
As the reports, the tour’s itinerary includes engagements with U.S. Departments of Commerce and Agriculture, state-level officials (for instance, in South Carolina), and private sector players. In South Carolina, Kagwe held talks with Milo’s Tea Company, one of America’s leading iced tea producers—discussions centered on expanding Kenya’s share in U.S. tea imports, which currently account for only about 2 percent.
KBC notes that Kenya is leveraging its eligibility under the Africa Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA), which grants duty-free access to qualifying African exports, but is seeking more permanent and streamlined pathways beyond the usual intermediated routes.
Trade sources suggest that technical assessments will be conducted later this year to ensure Kenyan agricultural systems can consistently meet U.S. safety and quality criteria.
If fully realized, direct market access would boost returns to farmers, increase Kenya’s foreign exchange earnings, and deepen U.S.–Kenya trade ties.