Uganda: Tea Bill to blend domestic auction, value addition

Parliament has granted Igara County West MP, Hon. Cohen Amanya, permission to introduce the National Tea Bill, which seeks to make value addition compulsory for tea exports and establish a tea auction system in Uganda.

The proposed law aims to regulate tea production, processing and marketing, strengthen quality standards and protect farmers and other players in the sector.

In seeking leave of the House, Amanya highlighted gaps in the regulation of the tea industry, arguing that the absence of a specific legal framework has undermined its competitiveness and exposed farmers to unstable prices.

“The object of the Bill is to transition the tea industry in Uganda into a structured and regulated sub-sector that protects tea farmers and other tea value chain actors,” said Amanya during the plenary sitting on Wednesday, 28 October 2026 chaired by Deputy Speaker Thomas Tayebwa.

According to his motion, about 90 percent of Uganda’s tea production is sold through the Mombasa Tea Auction, leaving the industry heavily dependent on one market.

He cites poor or medium-quality tea fetching less than US$1 per kilogramme, high fertiliser prices, pests and diseases, and factories operating below capacity.

The Bill further proposes mandatory value addition through packaging, blending, grading, flavouring, branding, labelling and processing tea into specialty products.

“A tea buyer or tea exporter shall add value to tea produced, purchased or intended for export from Uganda prior to sale or export,” Amanya said, explaining that buyers and exporters would require a certificate from the ministry responsible for agriculture confirming compliance before export.

Failure to comply will attract suspension or cancellation of licenses, seizure of consignments and a fine equivalent to the value of tea exported without value addition.

To strengthen marketing, the Bill proposes a domestic tea auction system through which tea processed and manufactured in Uganda for export would be offered for sale.

The ministry responsible for agriculture will regulate, promote and oversee the sector, while districts would supervise specified activities including green leaf handling, pest control and post-harvest practices.

The Bill introduces registration and licensing requirements for players across the tea value chain. Tea importers would need a license, evidence that the intended variety or grade is unavailable locally or at the auction, and a pre-import verification certificate from the country of origin.

They will also pay a tea levy prescribed by the minister after consultation with the minister responsible for finance.

On quality assurance, the Bill proposes continuous inspection of tea farms, factories, warehouses and storage facilities to ensure compliance with hygiene, quality and safety standards.

Mwenge Central County MP, Hon. Methuselah Kasukaali, seconded the motion saying that the lack of a law has contributed to poor-quality tea, causing Uganda to fetch lower prices than neighbouring countries.

"The tea sector has faced poor on farm practices, unregulated manufacturing including admitting poor quality tea leaves into the factories, as a result the sector has been fetching low prices such that in 2024 we earned US$54 million yet with improved quality it can be increased to US$120 million," said Kasukaali.

The State Minister for Agriculture, Animal Industry and Fisheries (Agriculture), Hon. Desire Muhooza, said the ministry is consulting sector players, noting that the process had been delayed by the rationalisation of the National Agricultural Advisory Services.