Statement of Purpose
No. KCTS/2027/A
Why this summit exists
Kenya grows more tea than almost anyone. It earns less from it than it should. This is a three-day attempt to change that in one specific direction.
The Kenya-China Tea Summit is a landmark international platform designed to deepen trade, investment, innovation and cultural cooperation between Kenya and China within the tea value chain. It runs in Nairobi from 21–23 April 2027.
The problem it is convened around
Kenya is one of the world's largest tea exporters by volume. It is not one of the largest earners. The tea leaves the country in bulk, is blended and branded somewhere else, and the margin is captured somewhere else too. Analysts have put it plainly: Kenya exports more tea than China and Sri Lanka, and earns less for it, held back by bulk sales, a narrow product range and limited market diversity.
Ecofin Agency, 2026 — Kenya leads in tea exports but trails in revenues
China is where that gap is sharpest, and where it is moving fastest in the wrong direction. Kenyan tea exports to China fell 51% in the first quarter of 2026, to 1.22 million kilogrammes.
The Kenyan Wall Street, Q1 2026 — Kenya tea exports: Sudan ban and Pakistan's Q1 rise
That decline sits against a national policy pointing the other way. Kenya is targeting close to 200 million kilogrammes of green and orthodox tea by 2030 — a deliberate move away from bulk black — and China has a zero-tariff door open. The Tea Board of Kenya has been working with Chinese partners on processing machinery, energy-efficient technology and, reportedly, an online auction platform.
China Daily, 21 July 2026 — Kenya targets bigger tea exports to Chinese market
A note on the figures above
Every number on this page comes from published trade reporting, is dated, and links to its source. None of it is a claim by the summit or a forecast of what the summit will achieve. It is the context the summit was called in response to.
What it is trying to do
Six objectives, as set by the secretariat.
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Strengthen trade relations
Build durable commercial links between Kenyan tea producers and Chinese buyers.
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Promote investment
Open Kenya's tea value chain to Chinese capital across processing, packaging and logistics.
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Support innovation
Bring agricultural technology, processing equipment and traceability tools to the people who will use them.
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Facilitate market access
Shorten the route from a Kenyan estate to a Chinese shelf.
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Foster collaboration
Put producers, policymakers, financiers and researchers in the same rooms for three days.
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Promote tea culture
Set Kenya's tea heritage alongside China's, as trade and as culture.
Who it is for
The summit is built around a specific problem: the people who grow and process Kenyan tea and the people who buy it in China rarely occupy the same building. Everyone below is invited because they sit somewhere on that chain.
Who is convening it
- Secretariat
- Kenya-China Tea Summit Secretariat
- Organised by
- Orbitline Events & Ushers Ltd
- Based in
- Nairobi, Kenya
- Edition
- First
This is the first edition. There is no previous year to point at, no archive of past delegates, and no attendance figure to quote. Everything published on this site is either confirmed by the secretariat or sourced and dated. Where something is not yet settled — the venue, the fees, the speakers — the page says so rather than filling the space.
Register your interest
Six categories, from delegate to exhibitor. Fees and deadlines are published once the secretariat confirms them.