Uganda’s tea stirs a promising future with speciality blends

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Tea is one of Uganda’s top agricultural exports, and it is beginning to get a flavourful makeover.

James Mukasa, the commissioner of trade in the trade ministry, says Uganda’s tea export earnings rose by 7.7%, from $3.03m in August to $3.26m in September last year, courtesy of the higher export prices.

Turning over a new leaf

“Uganda has always had the potential for high-quality tea, but we were selling it as a raw commodity,” Mukasa says.

That is beginning to change, as farmers are embracing value addition to boost profits and tap into new markets.

In Kabarole district, Willy Businge, a small-scale farmer under the Toro Organic Producers Association, began making speciality tea. It is a high-grade loose-leaf tea from smallholder tea farmers, properly preserved to produce the best aroma.

Businge blends green tea with locally grown herbs like spearmint, lemongrass, rosemary and ginger after attending an agro-processing training.

“My trial was to see if people would like it. To my surprise, they did — and were willing to pay up to three times the price of regular tea,” Businge says.

While a kilogramme of black tea goes for sh14,000, specialty tea fetches sh20,000 for the same quantity.

Businge’s first market was in local areas and today his teablends are stocked in Kampala shops and exported in small quantities to Ugandans in the UK and Canada.

Across Kabarole and Bushenyi districts, and cities like Fort Portal, more farmers are following suit — creating herbal blends and building a network of rural agrientrepreneurs.

Chrispine Musimenta Rwabona, the vice-chairperson of the National Association of Women in Tea Uganda, says the shift to speciality teas is empowering women.

“We’re a growing group of over 1,200 women from 26 districts. For years, we picked tea for others. Now, we’re making our own speciality teas,” she says.

Govt and research support

To empower farmers further, the Government is supporting them through training.

Through the agriculture ministry and agencies like the Uganda Industrial Research Institute, farmers are receiving training in post-harvest handling, branding, packaging and herbal processing.

Dr Robooni Tumuhimbise, a researcher in the National Agricultural Research Organisation (NARO), believes value addition helps improve returns.

“Ugandan tea suffers from poor quality and low prices due to weak regulation. But farmers can earn more by adding value,” Tumuhimbise says.

Since 2019, NARO has been developing value-added tea products. Rwebitaba Zonal Agricultural Research and Development Institute, for instance, has developed a green tea beverage rich in proteins and amino acids like thiamine, offering health benefits.

Health benefits

Bernard Bwambale from CONSENT Uganda says both black and green specialty teas contain antioxidants that boost immunity.

“Spices like cloves, cinnamon, and ginger have anti-inflammatory and anticarcinogenic properties,” he says.

Nadith Ahumuza, a senior nutritionist at Fort Portal Regional Referral Hospital, says spiced teas aid digestion, reduce nausea and ease gastric distress.

“Traditional chai blends with cloves, ginger, nutmeg, cardamom and mint support physical health. They’re low in calories and high in nutrients — ideal for weight management,” Ahumuza says.

Challenges, the road ahead

Despite the progress, challenges remain. Many rural producers lack access to financing, modern processing equipment and export logistics. Certification for organic and fair-trade standards can be expensive.

However, with support from co-operatives, nongovernmental organisations, and government programmes, the movement toward value addition is gaining momentum.

Uganda’s tea story is evolving — from bulk exports to boutique blends, from quantity to quality.

With creativity, entrepreneurship and strategic support, the country is brewing a new future for its tea industry.

Tea industry at a glance

Uganda primarily cultivates Camellia Sinensis Assamica, a fast-growing variety that can be harvested every five to seven days.

In 2022, Uganda produced around 300,000 tonnes of tea, making it one of Africa’s largest producers.

However, 95% of this is low-value black tea, exported in bulk through the Mombasa Tea Auction, often at low prices.

Tea farming supports over 200,000 skilled and unskilled workers, with around 80,000 households involved and over one million people depending on it for their livelihoods.

There are an estimated 50,000 hectares of tea in production. Yet, despite this scale, earnings remain modest—largely because Uganda exports raw tea instead of value-added products.