Tea is one of Africa's most important agricultural export products, with large-scale production concentrated mainly in East and Southern Africa.

Kenya is by far the continent's biggest tea producer. Its 2025 production reached approximately 550.37 million kilograms, according to figures from the Tea Board of Kenya. That was down 8.04% from the 598.48 million kilograms produced in 2024.

Because full-year 2026 production figures are not yet available, the latest complete comparable data are mainly from 2024 and 2025.

1. Kenya

Kenya is Africa's largest tea producer and one of the world's major tea-producing countries.

The country produced 598.48 million kilograms of made tea in 2024 and approximately 550.37 million kilograms in 2025.

Kenya's tea industry is also unusually important to smallholder farmers. KTDA-supported smallholders account for more than 60% of Kenyan tea production, according to industry data.

Kenya is particularly known for black tea and remains one of the world's largest tea exporters.

2. Uganda

Uganda is another major East African tea producer.

The Uganda Tea Association recorded 60.29 million kilograms of tea production in 2025, compared with 58.22 million kilograms in 2024.

The country therefore remained one of Africa's major tea-producing economies despite operating on a much smaller scale than Kenya.

Ugandan tea production is concentrated largely in the western and southwestern parts of the country.

3. Malawi

Malawi has one of Africa's longest-established commercial tea industries.

FAOSTAT-based data put Malawi's 2024 tea production at approximately 247,670 tonnes in the referenced series.

The tea-growing areas around Thyolo and Mulanje are particularly important to Malawi's tea industry.

Malawi has also historically relied heavily on tea exports as a source of agricultural export earnings.

4. Tanzania

Tanzania is another established tea-producing country in East Africa.

FAOSTAT-based figures give Tanzania's 2024 tea production at approximately 128,783 tonnes.

Tea production takes place in several highland areas, with the crop forming part of Tanzania's agricultural export sector.

5. Rwanda

Rwanda has developed a significant tea industry despite being a relatively small country.

FAOSTAT-based data put Rwanda's 2024 production at approximately 160,592 tonnes in the referenced dataset.

Tea is mainly grown in Rwanda's highland areas, where elevation and climate provide suitable conditions for cultivation.

The crop is also an important export product for the country.

6. Zimbabwe

Zimbabwe has a smaller tea industry than East Africa's leading producers but remains part of Africa's commercial tea sector.

Commercial tea cultivation is concentrated mainly in the eastern highlands, where conditions are suitable for tea.

Zimbabwe's tea industry is closely associated with large agricultural estates rather than the enormous smallholder networks found in Kenya.

7. South Africa

South Africa produces tea on a smaller scale than Kenya, Uganda and Malawi.

The country's tea industry includes conventional tea as well as the distinctive rooibos industry.

Rooibos is botanically different from the Camellia sinensis plant used to make conventional black, green and white teas. It is indigenous to South Africa's Western and Northern Cape regions.

8. Mozambique

Mozambique has a long history of tea cultivation, particularly in the northern highlands.

The country's commercial tea industry is concentrated around Gurué in Zambézia Province, an area known for its high-altitude tea estates.

Mozambique's output is substantially smaller than Kenya's, but tea remains part of its agricultural export history.

9. Cameroon

Cameroon produces tea mainly in its western highlands.

The country's tea sector is smaller than those of East Africa's leading producers, but commercial tea cultivation has been established for decades.

The western highlands provide the elevation and rainfall associated with Cameroon's tea-growing areas.

10. Burundi

Burundi is another Great Lakes country with a commercial tea industry.

Tea is grown in the country's higher-altitude regions and contributes to agricultural exports.

Although its production is small compared with Kenya's, Burundi's tea sector forms part of the wider East and Central African tea belt.

Kenya remains the continental giant

The gap between Kenya and the rest of Africa's tea producers is substantial.

Kenya produced approximately 550.37 million kilograms in 2025, while Uganda recorded about 60.29 million kilograms during the same year.

Kenya's 2024 figure of 598.48 million kilograms was also more than seven times Uganda's 2024 total in the Uganda Tea Association series.

The continent's tea industry is therefore heavily concentrated in a handful of countries, particularly Kenya, Uganda, Malawi, Tanzania and Rwanda.

The production figures also need to be read carefully because international datasets can use different definitions, reporting years and units. FAOSTAT-based series, for example, may not match national tea-board figures exactly. Agriculture statistics are periodically revised as countries submit updated data.