Burundi Tea Office
Burundi Tea Office is a Burundian public company that develops, manages, and markets tea production.
Last updated November 4, 2026
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Overview
Burundi Tea Office, commonly known by its French name Office du Thé du Burundi and the abbreviation OTB, is a public company responsible for supporting and organizing Burundi’s tea industry. Its activities combine agricultural development, grower support, primary processing, and the sale of processed tea to international markets. The organization is headquartered in Bujumbura and operates through tea complexes in the country’s principal highland-growing regions. Tea cultivation in Burundi has its roots in experimental work undertaken during the colonial period. Tea was cultivated in the country from 1931, particularly on the high-altitude slopes of the Congo–Nile Ridge. The first recorded trials associated with the later national tea system were established at the Gisozi Agronomic Research Station in 1963. Following independence in 1964, Burundi expanded tea production through state-owned industrial plantations and family-operated village plots. OTB was established as a public company in 1971 by presidential decree, giving the state a central institutional vehicle for expanding the sector and coordinating production. The country’s tea gardens are generally located between 1,700 and 2,500 metres above sea level. The elevation, climate, and surrounding environment are considered favorable to the production of high-altitude tea with characteristics comparable to teas from India. OTB’s agricultural model has included industrial block plantations, tea factories, and networks of smallholder growers. It buys green leaf from growers, processes the leaf into black tea, and sells the resulting product in Burundi and abroad. Through extension services and related support, the organization has also supplied or coordinated inputs such as planting material and fertilizer, as well as supervision and road maintenance in some producing areas. For many years OTB held a near-monopoly over Burundi’s tea production. In 2011 it controlled 9,005 plantations across five tea regions: Buhoro, Rwegura, Teza, Ijenda, and Tora. Tea cultivation at that time provided regular monetary income to approximately 350,000 people. The company’s role therefore extended beyond commercial tea manufacturing: it was also an important rural-development institution and a channel through which the state sought to increase farmers’ cash income and generate foreign exchange. The sector suffered during Burundi’s socio-political crisis beginning in October 1993. Production areas contracted, particularly in 1997, when the Teza complex lost tea acreage through burning and neglect. OTB’s administrative framework was revised by a 1997 decree. Despite these disruptions, production capacity later expanded. Dry-tea output from the five centers increased from 6,729,023 kilograms in 2009 to 10,761,613 kilograms in 2018. In 2020, the organization’s grower base included 66,487 tea producers, of whom 15,790 belonged to production cooperatives. OTB’s dominant position began to face direct competition after Promotion du Thé de Mwaro, or PROTHEM, started operating in 2011. Competition contributed to an increase in the price paid to growers, although producer remuneration remained a continuing concern. The two companies later disputed access to green leaf from village plantations, particularly around Rusaka and Gisozi. OTB argued that it had financed planting material, fertilizer, infrastructure, and supervision for some growers and therefore had a claim to their leaf. PROTHEM maintained that it had plantations in the area and should be allowed to collect from growers connected to its operations. The Burundian government has also considered privatizing some state-participated companies, including OTB. A 2013 law provided for the transfer of all or part of the state’s interests in designated companies, with the precise approach to be determined case by case. OTB remained a state-linked public enterprise in the available reference material. Its current public ownership structure, financial performance, and consumer-facing brand portfolio are not fully documented here. Operational challenges have included rainfall variability, fuel-related power interruptions, low grower payments, and the absence of a fully developed industry regulator. OTB remains associated primarily with Burundi’s bulk and export-oriented black-tea industry rather than with a widely distributed packaged consumer brand.
History
Tea cultivation in Burundi developed in the country’s highland areas, where the climate and elevation are suitable for tea production. Cultivation is documented from 1931, while more systematic experimentation took place at the Gisozi Agronomic Research Station in 1963. After Burundi became independent in 1964, the government expanded tea growing beyond research plots through state-owned industrial plantations and family-based village plantations. The Burundi Tea Office, or Office du Thé du Burundi, was created as a public company in 1971 by presidential decree. Its intended functions included developing the tea sector, supporting producers, increasing rural income, and contributing to national foreign-exchange earnings. The production system combined industrial blocks linked to factories with smallholder plots surrounding tea complexes. OTB became responsible for purchasing green leaf, processing it into black tea, and marketing the finished product domestically and internationally. Burundian tea is cultivated mainly on the high-altitude flanks of the Congo–Nile Ridge, generally between 1,700 and 2,500 metres. OTB’s major producing areas have included Buhoro, Rwegura, Teza, Ijenda, and Tora. Research and agricultural assistance were supported by the Burundi Institute of Agricultural Sciences. By 2006, the country had 2,010 hectares of industrial block plantations and 6,921 hectares of village plantations. The political crisis that began in October 1993 damaged the tea system. Production acreage declined, with particularly serious consequences at the Teza complex. Approximately 54 hectares of tea were burned there, while another 100 hectares became overgrown because fields could not be adequately monitored or maintained. The legal framework governing OTB was subsequently revised by a decree issued in September 1997. By 2002, the company reportedly had 800 permanent employees at its headquarters and relied on a large seasonal workforce equivalent to several thousand full-time workers. OTB retained a monopoly or dominant position for many years. In 2011 it managed 9,005 plantations spread across five tea regions and served a grower population estimated at about 350,000 people. Its five centers produced 6,729,023 kilograms of dry tea in 2009, rising to 10,761,613 kilograms in 2018. In 2020, the grower base was reported at 66,487, including 15,790 producers organized in cooperatives. The competitive environment changed when PROTHEM began operating in 2011. The arrival of a private producer helped raise the price paid to growers from 180 Burundian francs per kilogram to 250 francs. However, disputes emerged over which company had the right to collect green leaf from village producers. OTB maintained that it had invested in plants, fertilizer, roads, and supervision and that growers receiving this support should supply OTB. PROTHEM argued that it had plantations in the relevant localities and should also be permitted to collect leaf. The companies met in February 2020 to seek a solution. The state later identified OTB as one of several companies whose ownership could be transferred in whole or in part under a 2013 law concerning enterprises with state participation. The available material does not establish that privatization was completed. OTB continued to operate amid broader sectoral challenges, including variable rainfall, fuel shortages that caused electricity interruptions, modest grower remuneration, and the absence of a dedicated regulatory authority for the tea industry. Its principal identity remains that of a public tea-sector operator and producer of Burundian high-altitude black tea.
- 2020
Grower base and cooperative participation documented
[1]OTB’s network included 66,487 tea growers, with 15,790 organized in production cooperatives.
- 2018
Dry-tea output reaches reported high
[1]The five OTB centers produced 10,761,613 kilograms of dry tea, compared with 6,729,023 kilograms in 2009.
- 2013
Privatization framework introduced
[1]A law authorized the possible transfer of state interests in selected companies, including OTB, on a case-by-case basis.
- 2011
Private competition begins
[1]PROTHEM started operations, challenging OTB’s long-standing dominance and contributing to higher grower payments.
- 1997
OTB governance revised
[1]A September decree revised the terms governing the Burundi Tea Office after years of disruption.
- 1993
Political crisis disrupts tea production
[1]The socio-political crisis beginning in October affected tea-growing areas and reduced production capacity.
- 1971
OTB established
[1]The Burundi Tea Office was created as a public company by presidential decree.
- 1964
Post-independence expansion
[1]After independence, Burundi began expanding tea production through state plantations and family-operated village plots.
- 1963
Gisozi research trials
[1]The first cited experimental tea-growing trials were established at the Gisozi Agronomic Research Station.
- 1931
Early tea cultivation
[1]Tea began to be cultivated in Burundi’s highland regions, establishing the agricultural base for the later national tea industry.
Products and positioning
A state-linked, highland tea producer and sector-support institution serving growers, tea factories, and international buyers.
Tea
Burundian black tea
OTB purchases green tea leaf from industrial and village growers and processes it into black tea. The product is associated with Burundi’s high-altitude growing regions and is primarily handled as a bulk or export-oriented commodity rather than as a documented global packaged-consumer brand.
Brand decisions
2020
Negotiation over green-leaf sourcingStrategyBackground
OTB and PROTHEM disagreed over PROTHEM’s collection of green leaf from growers in Rusaka and surrounding areas.
Action taken
Representatives of the two companies met in February to attempt to resolve the dispute over grower access and the recognition of plantation investments.
Aftermath
The available material does not document a definitive settlement or a subsequent regulatory ruling.
- Promotion du Thé de Mwaro (PROTHEM) — PROTHEM said it had plantations in the locality and argued that the administration should allow it to collect tea from growers linked to its operations.
2013
OTB included in state-enterprise privatization frameworkStrategyBackground
Burundi adopted a law covering the possible transfer of state interests in selected enterprises with state participation. OTB was among the companies named for possible privatization.
Action taken
The government established a case-by-case process for determining whether and how its interests in OTB and other companies would be transferred.
Aftermath
The available reference material does not confirm that OTB’s privatization was completed.
Sources1 sources
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