diff --git a/.tekton/generate-test-files.js b/.tekton/generate-test-files.js
index 034e63ef4e..290fe816f7 100644
--- a/.tekton/generate-test-files.js
+++ b/.tekton/generate-test-files.js
@@ -79,7 +79,7 @@ const groups = {
     subname: 'test:ci:tracing:protocols'
   },
   'test:ci:collector:tracing:general': {
-    sidecars: ['postgres', 'oracledb'],
+    sidecars: ['postgres', 'oracledb', 'zookeeper', 'kafka', 'kafka-topics', 'schema-registry'],
     condition: ' && true'
   },
   'test:ci:collector:tracing:misc': {
diff --git a/.tekton/tasks/test-groups/collector-tracing-general-task.yaml b/.tekton/tasks/test-groups/collector-tracing-general-task.yaml
index 7986e28fd6..7f13a753a1 100644
--- a/.tekton/tasks/test-groups/collector-tracing-general-task.yaml
+++ b/.tekton/tasks/test-groups/collector-tracing-general-task.yaml
@@ -33,6 +33,71 @@ spec:
             value: "teamnodejs"
           - name: "APP_USER_PASSWORD"
             value: "teamnodejspassword"
+    - name: zookeeper
+      image: confluentinc/cp-zookeeper:7.9.1
+      imagePullPolicy: IfNotPresent
+      env:
+          - name: "ZOOKEEPER_CLIENT_PORT"
+            value: "2181"
+      readinessProbe:
+          tcpSocket:
+            port: 2181 
+          initialDelaySeconds: 5
+          periodSeconds: 2
+          timeoutSeconds: 30
+    - name: kafka
+      image: confluentinc/cp-kafka:7.9.1
+      imagePullPolicy: IfNotPresent
+      env:
+          - name: "KAFKA_BROKER_ID"
+            value: "1"
+          - name: "KAFKA_ZOOKEEPER_CONNECT"
+            value: "localhost:2181"
+          - name: "KAFKA_ADVERTISED_LISTENERS"
+            value: "PLAINTEXT://127.0.0.1:29092,EXTERNAL://localhost:9092"
+          - name: "KAFKA_LISTENERS"
+            value: "EXTERNAL://:9092,PLAINTEXT://:29092"
+          - name: "KAFKA_OFFSETS_TOPIC_REPLICATION_FACTOR"
+            value: "1"
+          - name: "KAFKA_DEFAULT_REPLICATION_FACTOR"
+            value: "1"
+          - name: "KAFKA_LISTENER_SECURITY_PROTOCOL_MAP"
+            value: "PLAINTEXT:PLAINTEXT,PLAINTEXT_HOST:PLAINTEXT,EXTERNAL:PLAINTEXT"
+      readinessProbe:
+          tcpSocket:
+            port: 9092 
+          initialDelaySeconds: 90
+          periodSeconds: 2
+          timeoutSeconds: 60
+    - name: kafka-topics
+      image: confluentinc/cp-kafka:7.9.1
+      imagePullPolicy: IfNotPresent
+      args:
+          - "-lc"
+          - "kafka_server=\"0.0.0.0:9092\"; kafka_topics=\"test test-topic test-batch-topic rdkafka-topic\"; until kafka-topics --bootstrap-server \"$kafka_server\" --list >/dev/null 2>&1; do echo 'waiting for Kafka...'; sleep 2; done; for t in $kafka_topics; do kafka-topics --bootstrap-server \"$kafka_server\" --create --if-not-exists --topic \"$t\"; done; echo 'All topics created.'"
+      command:
+          - "/bin/bash"
+    - name: schema-registry
+      image: confluentinc/cp-schema-registry:7.9.0
+      imagePullPolicy: IfNotPresent
+      env:
+          - name: "SCHEMA_REGISTRY_HOST_NAME"
+            value: "schema-registry"
+          - name: "SCHEMA_REGISTRY_KAFKASTORE_CONNECTION_URL"
+            value: "0.0.0.0:2181"
+          - name: "SCHEMA_REGISTRY_LISTENERS"
+            value: "http://0.0.0.0:8081"
+          - name: "SCHEMA_REGISTRY_KAFKASTORE_BOOTSTRAP_SERVERS"
+            value: "PLAINTEXT://0.0.0.0:29092"
+          - name: "SCHEMA_REGISTRY_DEBUG"
+            value: "true"
+      readinessProbe:
+          httpGet:
+            path: / 
+            port: 8081 
+          initialDelaySeconds: 5
+          periodSeconds: 2
+          timeoutSeconds: 60
   envFrom:
     - configMapRef:
         name: environment-properties  
diff --git a/currencies.json b/currencies.json
index 7cdab99d28..ebac92615b 100644
--- a/currencies.json
+++ b/currencies.json
@@ -867,5 +867,16 @@
     "ignoreUpdates": false,
     "note": "",
     "core": false
+  },
+  {
+    "name": "@confluentinc/kafka-javascript",
+    "policy": "45-days",
+    "lastSupportedVersion": "",
+    "latestVersion": "",
+    "cloudNative": false,
+    "isBeta": false,
+    "ignoreUpdates": false,
+    "note": "",
+    "core": false
   }
 ]
diff --git a/docker-compose-base.yaml b/docker-compose-base.yaml
index 1e03cdc946..3d528377e2 100644
--- a/docker-compose-base.yaml
+++ b/docker-compose-base.yaml
@@ -122,7 +122,7 @@ services:
         set -euo pipefail
 
         kafka_server="kafka:29092"
-        kafka_topics="test test-topic test-batch-topic rdkafka-topic"
+        kafka_topics="test test-topic test-batch-topic rdkafka-topic confluent-kafka-topic"
 
         echo "Waiting for Kafka to be ready on $$kafka_server..."
 
diff --git a/package-lock.json b/package-lock.json
index 0b67d1afa6..a247c4aa7e 100644
--- a/package-lock.json
+++ b/package-lock.json
@@ -32,6 +32,7 @@
         "@azure/storage-blob-v12.27.0": "npm:@azure/storage-blob@12.27.0",
         "@commitlint/cli": "14.1.0",
         "@commitlint/config-conventional": "14.1.0",
+        "@confluentinc/kafka-javascript": "1.7.0",
         "@elastic/ecs-pino-format": "^1.5.0",
         "@elastic/elasticsearch": "9.2.0",
         "@elastic/elasticsearch-v7.17.0": "npm:@elastic/elasticsearch@7.17.0",
@@ -11278,6 +11279,27 @@
         "node": ">=v12"
       }
     },
+    "node_modules/@confluentinc/kafka-javascript": {
+      "version": "1.7.0",
+      "resolved": "https://registry.npmjs.org/@confluentinc/kafka-javascript/-/kafka-javascript-1.7.0.tgz",
+      "integrity": "sha512-nmb7+TYjokCFOX2qUgSqhSW7dCy6/raYYneqR/dLDQwUPak4yuRLGfrvGHTvoH0VC4BUUiRu8niJS//5c3SC/A==",
+      "dev": true,
+      "hasInstallScript": true,
+      "license": "MIT",
+      "workspaces": [
+        ".",
+        "schemaregistry",
+        "schemaregistry-examples"
+      ],
+      "dependencies": {
+        "@mapbox/node-pre-gyp": "^1.0.11",
+        "bindings": "^1.3.1",
+        "nan": "^2.22.0"
+      },
+      "engines": {
+        "node": ">=18.0.0"
+      }
+    },
     "node_modules/@couchbase/couchbase-darwin-arm64-napi": {
       "version": "4.6.0",
       "resolved": "https://registry.npmjs.org/@couchbase/couchbase-darwin-arm64-napi/-/couchbase-darwin-arm64-napi-4.6.0.tgz",
@@ -11402,6 +11424,31 @@
         "kuler": "^2.0.0"
       }
     },
+    "node_modules/@drazke/instrumentation-confluent-kafka-javascript": {
+      "version": "1.0.1",
+      "resolved": "https://github.com/kirrg001/instrumentation-confluent-kafka-javascript/releases/download/1.0.1/drazke-instrumentation-confluent-kafka-javascript-1.0.1.tgz",
+      "integrity": "sha512-82ALolwp/F4RKqnGgHHu7B4seZC78Sib53v23rdJIVj/b5PH99gdppLYKu2BxROBZDzrq7fldsYVXFcwje+biw==",
+      "license": "Apache-2.0",
+      "dependencies": {
+        "@opentelemetry/instrumentation": "^0.207.0",
+        "@opentelemetry/semantic-conventions": "^1.34.0"
+      },
+      "engines": {
+        "node": "^18.19.0 || >=20.6.0"
+      },
+      "peerDependencies": {
+        "@opentelemetry/api": "^1.3.0"
+      }
+    },
+    "node_modules/@drazke/instrumentation-confluent-kafka-javascript/node_modules/@opentelemetry/semantic-conventions": {
+      "version": "1.38.0",
+      "resolved": "https://registry.npmjs.org/@opentelemetry/semantic-conventions/-/semantic-conventions-1.38.0.tgz",
+      "integrity": "sha512-kocjix+/sSggfJhwXqClZ3i9Y/MI0fp7b+g7kCRm6psy2dsf8uApTRclwG18h8Avm7C9+fnt+O36PspJ/OzoWg==",
+      "license": "Apache-2.0",
+      "engines": {
+        "node": ">=14"
+      }
+    },
     "node_modules/@elastic/ecs-helpers": {
       "version": "2.1.1",
       "resolved": "https://registry.npmjs.org/@elastic/ecs-helpers/-/ecs-helpers-2.1.1.tgz",
@@ -13661,6 +13708,243 @@
         "node": ">=12"
       }
     },
+    "node_modules/@mapbox/node-pre-gyp": {
+      "version": "1.0.11",
+      "resolved": "https://registry.npmjs.org/@mapbox/node-pre-gyp/-/node-pre-gyp-1.0.11.tgz",
+      "integrity": "sha512-Yhlar6v9WQgUp/He7BdgzOz8lqMQ8sU+jkCq7Wx8Myc5YFJLbEe7lgui/V7G1qB1DJykHSGwreceSaD60Y0PUQ==",
+      "dev": true,
+      "license": "BSD-3-Clause",
+      "dependencies": {
+        "detect-libc": "^2.0.0",
+        "https-proxy-agent": "^5.0.0",
+        "make-dir": "^3.1.0",
+        "node-fetch": "^2.6.7",
+        "nopt": "^5.0.0",
+        "npmlog": "^5.0.1",
+        "rimraf": "^3.0.2",
+        "semver": "^7.3.5",
+        "tar": "^6.1.11"
+      },
+      "bin": {
+        "node-pre-gyp": "bin/node-pre-gyp"
+      }
+    },
+    "node_modules/@mapbox/node-pre-gyp/node_modules/abbrev": {
+      "version": "1.1.1",
+      "resolved": "https://registry.npmjs.org/abbrev/-/abbrev-1.1.1.tgz",
+      "integrity": "sha512-nne9/IiQ/hzIhY6pdDnbBtz7DjPTKrY00P/zvPSm5pOFkl6xuGrGnXn/VtTNNfNtAfZ9/1RtehkszU9qcTii0Q==",
+      "dev": true,
+      "license": "ISC"
+    },
+    "node_modules/@mapbox/node-pre-gyp/node_modules/are-we-there-yet": {
+      "version": "2.0.0",
+      "resolved": "https://registry.npmjs.org/are-we-there-yet/-/are-we-there-yet-2.0.0.tgz",
+      "integrity": "sha512-Ci/qENmwHnsYo9xKIcUJN5LeDKdJ6R1Z1j9V/J5wyq8nh/mYPEpIKJbBZXtZjG04HiK7zV/p6Vs9952MrMeUIw==",
+      "deprecated": "This package is no longer supported.",
+      "dev": true,
+      "license": "ISC",
+      "dependencies": {
+        "delegates": "^1.0.0",
+        "readable-stream": "^3.6.0"
+      },
+      "engines": {
+        "node": ">=10"
+      }
+    },
+    "node_modules/@mapbox/node-pre-gyp/node_modules/detect-libc": {
+      "version": "2.1.2",
+      "resolved": "https://registry.npmjs.org/detect-libc/-/detect-libc-2.1.2.tgz",
+      "integrity": "sha512-Btj2BOOO83o3WyH59e8MgXsxEQVcarkUOpEYrubB0urwnN10yQ364rsiByU11nZlqWYZm05i/of7io4mzihBtQ==",
+      "dev": true,
+      "license": "Apache-2.0",
+      "engines": {
+        "node": ">=8"
+      }
+    },
+    "node_modules/@mapbox/node-pre-gyp/node_modules/gauge": {
+      "version": "3.0.2",
+      "resolved": "https://registry.npmjs.org/gauge/-/gauge-3.0.2.tgz",
+      "integrity": "sha512-+5J6MS/5XksCuXq++uFRsnUd7Ovu1XenbeuIuNRJxYWjgQbPuFhT14lAvsWfqfAmnwluf1OwMjz39HjfLPci0Q==",
+      "deprecated": "This package is no longer supported.",
+      "dev": true,
+      "license": "ISC",
+      "dependencies": {
+        "aproba": "^1.0.3 || ^2.0.0",
+        "color-support": "^1.1.2",
+        "console-control-strings": "^1.0.0",
+        "has-unicode": "^2.0.1",
+        "object-assign": "^4.1.1",
+        "signal-exit": "^3.0.0",
+        "string-width": "^4.2.3",
+        "strip-ansi": "^6.0.1",
+        "wide-align": "^1.1.2"
+      },
+      "engines": {
+        "node": ">=10"
+      }
+    },
+    "node_modules/@mapbox/node-pre-gyp/node_modules/https-proxy-agent": {
+      "version": "5.0.1",
+      "resolved": "https://registry.npmjs.org/https-proxy-agent/-/https-proxy-agent-5.0.1.tgz",
+      "integrity": "sha512-dFcAjpTQFgoLMzC2VwU+C/CbS7uRL0lWmxDITmqm7C+7F0Odmj6s9l6alZc6AELXhrnggM2CeWSXHGOdX2YtwA==",
+      "dev": true,
+      "license": "MIT",
+      "dependencies": {
+        "agent-base": "6",
+        "debug": "4"
+      },
+      "engines": {
+        "node": ">= 6"
+      }
+    },
+    "node_modules/@mapbox/node-pre-gyp/node_modules/make-dir": {
+      "version": "3.1.0",
+      "resolved": "https://registry.npmjs.org/make-dir/-/make-dir-3.1.0.tgz",
+      "integrity": "sha512-g3FeP20LNwhALb/6Cz6Dd4F2ngze0jz7tbzrD2wAV+o9FeNHe4rL+yK2md0J/fiSf1sa1ADhXqi5+oVwOM/eGw==",
+      "dev": true,
+      "license": "MIT",
+      "dependencies": {
+        "semver": "^6.0.0"
+      },
+      "engines": {
+        "node": ">=8"
+      },
+      "funding": {
+        "url": "https://github.com/sponsors/sindresorhus"
+      }
+    },
+    "node_modules/@mapbox/node-pre-gyp/node_modules/make-dir/node_modules/semver": {
+      "version": "6.3.1",
+      "resolved": "https://registry.npmjs.org/semver/-/semver-6.3.1.tgz",
+      "integrity": "sha512-BR7VvDCVHO+q2xBEWskxS6DJE1qRnb7DxzUrogb71CWoSficBxYsiAGd+Kl0mmq/MprG9yArRkyrQxTO6XjMzA==",
+      "dev": true,
+      "license": "ISC",
+      "bin": {
+        "semver": "bin/semver.js"
+      }
+    },
+    "node_modules/@mapbox/node-pre-gyp/node_modules/node-fetch": {
+      "version": "2.7.0",
+      "resolved": "https://registry.npmjs.org/node-fetch/-/node-fetch-2.7.0.tgz",
+      "integrity": "sha512-c4FRfUm/dbcWZ7U+1Wq0AwCyFL+3nt2bEw05wfxSz+DWpWsitgmSgYmy2dQdWyKC1694ELPqMs/YzUSNozLt8A==",
+      "dev": true,
+      "license": "MIT",
+      "dependencies": {
+        "whatwg-url": "^5.0.0"
+      },
+      "engines": {
+        "node": "4.x || >=6.0.0"
+      },
+      "peerDependencies": {
+        "encoding": "^0.1.0"
+      },
+      "peerDependenciesMeta": {
+        "encoding": {
+          "optional": true
+        }
+      }
+    },
+    "node_modules/@mapbox/node-pre-gyp/node_modules/nopt": {
+      "version": "5.0.0",
+      "resolved": "https://registry.npmjs.org/nopt/-/nopt-5.0.0.tgz",
+      "integrity": "sha512-Tbj67rffqceeLpcRXrT7vKAN8CwfPeIBgM7E6iBkmKLV7bEMwpGgYLGv0jACUsECaa/vuxP0IjEont6umdMgtQ==",
+      "dev": true,
+      "license": "ISC",
+      "dependencies": {
+        "abbrev": "1"
+      },
+      "bin": {
+        "nopt": "bin/nopt.js"
+      },
+      "engines": {
+        "node": ">=6"
+      }
+    },
+    "node_modules/@mapbox/node-pre-gyp/node_modules/npmlog": {
+      "version": "5.0.1",
+      "resolved": "https://registry.npmjs.org/npmlog/-/npmlog-5.0.1.tgz",
+      "integrity": "sha512-AqZtDUWOMKs1G/8lwylVjrdYgqA4d9nu8hc+0gzRxlDb1I10+FHBGMXs6aiQHFdCUUlqH99MUMuLfzWDNDtfxw==",
+      "deprecated": "This package is no longer supported.",
+      "dev": true,
+      "license": "ISC",
+      "dependencies": {
+        "are-we-there-yet": "^2.0.0",
+        "console-control-strings": "^1.1.0",
+        "gauge": "^3.0.0",
+        "set-blocking": "^2.0.0"
+      }
+    },
+    "node_modules/@mapbox/node-pre-gyp/node_modules/readable-stream": {
+      "version": "3.6.2",
+      "resolved": "https://registry.npmjs.org/readable-stream/-/readable-stream-3.6.2.tgz",
+      "integrity": "sha512-9u/sniCrY3D5WdsERHzHE4G2YCXqoG5FTHUiCC4SIbr6XcLZBY05ya9EKjYek9O5xOAwjGq+1JdGBAS7Q9ScoA==",
+      "dev": true,
+      "license": "MIT",
+      "dependencies": {
+        "inherits": "^2.0.3",
+        "string_decoder": "^1.1.1",
+        "util-deprecate": "^1.0.1"
+      },
+      "engines": {
+        "node": ">= 6"
+      }
+    },
+    "node_modules/@mapbox/node-pre-gyp/node_modules/safe-buffer": {
+      "version": "5.2.1",
+      "resolved": "https://registry.npmjs.org/safe-buffer/-/safe-buffer-5.2.1.tgz",
+      "integrity": "sha512-rp3So07KcdmmKbGvgaNxQSJr7bGVSVk5S9Eq1F+ppbRo70+YeaDxkw5Dd8NPN+GD6bjnYm2VuPuCXmpuYvmCXQ==",
+      "dev": true,
+      "funding": [
+        {
+          "type": "github",
+          "url": "https://github.com/sponsors/feross"
+        },
+        {
+          "type": "patreon",
+          "url": "https://www.patreon.com/feross"
+        },
+        {
+          "type": "consulting",
+          "url": "https://feross.org/support"
+        }
+      ],
+      "license": "MIT"
+    },
+    "node_modules/@mapbox/node-pre-gyp/node_modules/string_decoder": {
+      "version": "1.3.0",
+      "resolved": "https://registry.npmjs.org/string_decoder/-/string_decoder-1.3.0.tgz",
+      "integrity": "sha512-hkRX8U1WjJFd8LsDJ2yQ/wWWxaopEsABU1XfkM8A+j0+85JAGppt16cr1Whg6KIbb4okU6Mql6BOj+uup/wKeA==",
+      "dev": true,
+      "license": "MIT",
+      "dependencies": {
+        "safe-buffer": "~5.2.0"
+      }
+    },
+    "node_modules/@mapbox/node-pre-gyp/node_modules/tr46": {
+      "version": "0.0.3",
+      "resolved": "https://registry.npmjs.org/tr46/-/tr46-0.0.3.tgz",
+      "integrity": "sha512-N3WMsuqV66lT30CrXNbEjx4GEwlow3v6rr4mCcv6prnfwhS01rkgyFdjPNBYd9br7LpXV1+Emh01fHnq2Gdgrw==",
+      "dev": true,
+      "license": "MIT"
+    },
+    "node_modules/@mapbox/node-pre-gyp/node_modules/webidl-conversions": {
+      "version": "3.0.1",
+      "resolved": "https://registry.npmjs.org/webidl-conversions/-/webidl-conversions-3.0.1.tgz",
+      "integrity": "sha512-2JAn3z8AR6rjK8Sm8orRC0h/bcl/DqL7tRPdGZ4I1CjdF+EaMLmYxBHyXuKL849eucPFhvBoxMsflfOb8kxaeQ==",
+      "dev": true,
+      "license": "BSD-2-Clause"
+    },
+    "node_modules/@mapbox/node-pre-gyp/node_modules/whatwg-url": {
+      "version": "5.0.0",
+      "resolved": "https://registry.npmjs.org/whatwg-url/-/whatwg-url-5.0.0.tgz",
+      "integrity": "sha512-saE57nupxk6v3HY35+jzBwYa0rKSy0XR8JSxZPwgLr7ys0IBzhGviA1/TUGJLmSVqs8pb9AnvICXEuOHLprYTw==",
+      "dev": true,
+      "license": "MIT",
+      "dependencies": {
+        "tr46": "~0.0.3",
+        "webidl-conversions": "^3.0.0"
+      }
+    },
     "node_modules/@mongodb-js/saslprep": {
       "version": "1.3.0",
       "resolved": "https://registry.npmjs.org/@mongodb-js/saslprep/-/saslprep-1.3.0.tgz",
@@ -22067,7 +22351,7 @@
       "version": "1.5.0",
       "resolved": "https://registry.npmjs.org/bindings/-/bindings-1.5.0.tgz",
       "integrity": "sha512-p2q/t/mhvuOj/UeLlV6566GD/guowlr0hHxClI0W9m7MWYkL1F0hLo+0Aexs9HSPCtR1SXQ0TD3MMKrXZajbiQ==",
-      "optional": true,
+      "devOptional": true,
       "dependencies": {
         "file-uri-to-path": "1.0.0"
       }
@@ -29530,7 +29814,7 @@
       "version": "1.0.0",
       "resolved": "https://registry.npmjs.org/file-uri-to-path/-/file-uri-to-path-1.0.0.tgz",
       "integrity": "sha512-0Zt+s3L7Vf1biwWZ29aARiVYLx7iMGnEUl9x33fbB/j3jR81u/O2LbqK+Bm1CDSNDKVtJ/YjwY7TUd5SkeLQLw==",
-      "optional": true
+      "devOptional": true
     },
     "node_modules/filelist": {
       "version": "1.0.4",
@@ -48197,6 +48481,7 @@
       "version": "5.0.2",
       "license": "MIT",
       "dependencies": {
+        "@drazke/instrumentation-confluent-kafka-javascript": "https://github.com/kirrg001/instrumentation-confluent-kafka-javascript/releases/download/1.0.1/drazke-instrumentation-confluent-kafka-javascript-1.0.1.tgz",
         "@opentelemetry/api": ">=1.3.0 <1.10.0",
         "@opentelemetry/context-async-hooks": "1.25.0",
         "@opentelemetry/instrumentation-fs": "0.28.0",
diff --git a/package.json b/package.json
index 886d263b4a..11fb9cca80 100644
--- a/package.json
+++ b/package.json
@@ -99,6 +99,7 @@
     "@azure/storage-blob-v12.27.0": "npm:@azure/storage-blob@12.27.0",
     "@commitlint/cli": "14.1.0",
     "@commitlint/config-conventional": "14.1.0",
+    "@confluentinc/kafka-javascript": "1.7.0",
     "@elastic/ecs-pino-format": "^1.5.0",
     "@elastic/elasticsearch": "9.2.0",
     "@elastic/elasticsearch-v7.17.0": "npm:@elastic/elasticsearch@7.17.0",
diff --git a/packages/collector/test/tracing/opentelemetry/confluent-kafka-consumer-app.js b/packages/collector/test/tracing/opentelemetry/confluent-kafka-consumer-app.js
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..676f3d90e4
--- /dev/null
+++ b/packages/collector/test/tracing/opentelemetry/confluent-kafka-consumer-app.js
@@ -0,0 +1,143 @@
+/*
+ * (c) Copyright IBM Corp. 2025
+ */
+
+'use strict';
+
+process.on('SIGTERM', () => {
+  process.disconnect();
+  process.exit(0);
+});
+
+const instana = require('@instana/collector')();
+const express = require('express');
+const bodyParser = require('body-parser');
+const fetch = require('node-fetch-v2');
+const delay = require('../../../../core/test/test_util/delay');
+const port = require('../../test_util/app-port')();
+const logPrefix = `Confluent Kafka Consumer App (${process.pid}):\t`;
+const KafkaLib = require('@confluentinc/kafka-javascript');
+
+const app = express();
+app.use(bodyParser.json());
+
+const broker = process.env.KAFKA;
+const topic = process.env.CONFLUENT_KAFKA_TOPIC;
+const clientType = (process.env.KAFKA_CLIENT_TYPE || 'kafkajs').toLowerCase();
+
+let consumer;
+let connected = false;
+
+async function setupConsumer() {
+  if (!KafkaLib) return;
+
+  let KafkaClient;
+  let useRdKafka = false;
+
+  if (clientType === 'rdkafka') {
+    KafkaClient = KafkaLib.KafkaConsumer || KafkaLib.RdKafka.KafkaConsumer;
+    useRdKafka = true;
+    log(`Using ${clientType} (node-rdkafka) client.`);
+  } else {
+    KafkaClient = KafkaLib.KafkaJS.Kafka || KafkaLib.Kafka;
+    log(`Using ${clientType} (kafkajs) client.`);
+  }
+
+  if (!KafkaClient) {
+    log(`Error: Kafka client for type ${clientType} not found in KafkaLib.`);
+    return;
+  }
+
+  try {
+    if (useRdKafka) {
+      consumer = new KafkaClient({
+        'group.id': `confluent-consumer-${process.pid}`,
+        'metadata.broker.list': broker
+      });
+
+      consumer.connect();
+
+      consumer.on('ready', () => {
+        log('RdKafka Consumer ready.');
+        consumer.subscribe([topic]);
+        consumer.consume();
+        connected = true;
+      });
+
+      consumer.on('data', async msg => {
+        const span = instana.currentSpan();
+        span && span.disableAutoEnd && span.disableAutoEnd();
+
+        const value = msg.value && msg.value.toString();
+        log('Consumed (data) message', msg.topic, value);
+
+        await delay(50);
+        await fetch(`http://127.0.0.1:${process.env.INSTANA_AGENT_PORT}/ping`);
+        span && span.end && span.end();
+      });
+
+      consumer.on('event.error', err => {
+        log('RdKafka Consumer error:', err.message);
+      });
+    } else {
+      const kafka = new KafkaClient({
+        kafkaJS: {
+          clientId: 'confluent-consumer',
+          brokers: [broker],
+          groupId: `confluent-consumer-${process.pid}`
+        }
+      });
+
+      consumer = kafka.consumer();
+
+      await consumer.connect();
+      log('Consumer connected, subscribing to topic:', topic);
+      await consumer.subscribe({ topic });
+      log('Consumer subscribed to topic:', topic);
+
+      log('Starting consumer.run()...');
+      await consumer.run({
+        eachMessage: async ({ topic: t, message }) => {
+          log('eachMessage callback called for topic:', t);
+          const span = instana.currentSpan();
+          span && span.disableAutoEnd && span.disableAutoEnd();
+
+          const value = message && message.value ? message.value.toString() : undefined;
+          log('Consumed (kafkajs) message', t, value);
+
+          await delay(50);
+          await fetch(`http://127.0.0.1:${process.env.INSTANA_AGENT_PORT}/ping`);
+          span && span.end && span.end();
+        }
+      });
+
+      setTimeout(() => {
+        log('KafkaJS Consumer ready.');
+        connected = true;
+      }, 2 * 1000);
+    }
+  } catch (e) {
+    log('Consumer setup error', e && e.message);
+  }
+}
+
+app.get('/', (_req, res) => {
+  if (connected) res.send('OK');
+  else res.sendStatus(503);
+});
+
+app.get('/messages', (_req, res) => {
+  res.sendStatus(200);
+});
+
+app.listen(port, () => {
+  log(`Listening on port: ${port}`);
+  setupConsumer().catch(() => {});
+});
+
+function log() {
+  const args = Array.prototype.slice.call(arguments);
+  args[0] = logPrefix + args[0];
+  // eslint-disable-next-line no-console
+  console.log.apply(console, args);
+}
diff --git a/packages/collector/test/tracing/opentelemetry/confluent-kafka-consumer-app.mjs b/packages/collector/test/tracing/opentelemetry/confluent-kafka-consumer-app.mjs
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..79e9e8bfa2
--- /dev/null
+++ b/packages/collector/test/tracing/opentelemetry/confluent-kafka-consumer-app.mjs
@@ -0,0 +1,146 @@
+/*
+ * (c) Copyright IBM Corp. 2025
+ */
+
+'use strict';
+
+process.on('SIGTERM', () => {
+  process.disconnect();
+  process.exit(0);
+});
+
+import instana from '../../../src/index.js';
+import express from 'express';
+import bodyParser from 'body-parser';
+import fetch from 'node-fetch-v2';
+import delay from '../../../../core/test/test_util/delay.js';
+import getAppPort from '../../test_util/app-port.js';
+const port = getAppPort();
+const logPrefix = `Confluent Kafka Consumer App (${process.pid}):\t`;
+
+console.log('WTF confluent-kafka consumer app!');
+import KafkaLib from '@confluentinc/kafka-javascript';
+
+const app = express();
+app.use(bodyParser.json());
+
+const broker = process.env.KAFKA;
+const topic = process.env.CONFLUENT_KAFKA_TOPIC;
+const clientType = (process.env.KAFKA_CLIENT_TYPE || 'kafkajs').toLowerCase();
+
+let consumer;
+let connected = false;
+
+async function setupConsumer() {
+  if (!KafkaLib) return;
+
+  let KafkaClient;
+  let useRdKafka = false;
+
+  if (clientType === 'rdkafka') {
+    KafkaClient = KafkaLib.KafkaConsumer || KafkaLib.RdKafka.KafkaConsumer;
+    useRdKafka = true;
+    log(`Using ${clientType} (node-rdkafka) client.`);
+  } else {
+    KafkaClient = KafkaLib.KafkaJS.Kafka || KafkaLib.Kafka;
+    log(`Using ${clientType} (kafkajs) client.`);
+  }
+
+  if (!KafkaClient) {
+    log(`Error: Kafka client for type ${clientType} not found in KafkaLib.`);
+    return;
+  }
+
+  try {
+    if (useRdKafka) {
+      consumer = new KafkaClient({
+        'group.id': `confluent-consumer-${process.pid}`,
+        'metadata.broker.list': broker
+      });
+
+      consumer.connect();
+
+      consumer.on('ready', () => {
+        log('RdKafka Consumer ready.');
+        consumer.subscribe([topic]);
+        consumer.consume();
+        connected = true;
+      });
+
+      consumer.on('data', async msg => {
+        const span = instana.currentSpan();
+        span && span.disableAutoEnd && span.disableAutoEnd();
+
+        const value = msg.value && msg.value.toString();
+        log('Consumed (data) message', msg.topic, value);
+
+        await delay(50);
+        await fetch(`http://127.0.0.1:${process.env.INSTANA_AGENT_PORT}/ping`);
+        span && span.end && span.end();
+      });
+
+      consumer.on('event.error', err => {
+        log('RdKafka Consumer error:', err.message);
+      });
+    } else {
+      const kafka = new KafkaClient({
+        kafkaJS: {
+          clientId: 'confluent-consumer',
+          brokers: [broker],
+          groupId: `confluent-consumer-${process.pid}`
+        }
+      });
+
+      consumer = kafka.consumer();
+
+      await consumer.connect();
+      log('Consumer connected, subscribing to topic:', topic);
+      await consumer.subscribe({ topic });
+      log('Consumer subscribed to topic:', topic);
+
+      log('Starting consumer.run()...');
+      await consumer.run({
+        eachMessage: async ({ topic: t, message }) => {
+          log('eachMessage callback called for topic:', t);
+          const span = instana.currentSpan();
+          span && span.disableAutoEnd && span.disableAutoEnd();
+
+          const value = message && message.value ? message.value.toString() : undefined;
+          log('Consumed (kafkajs) message', t, value);
+
+          await delay(50);
+          await fetch(`http://127.0.0.1:${process.env.INSTANA_AGENT_PORT}/ping`);
+          span && span.end && span.end();
+        }
+      });
+
+      setTimeout(() => {
+        log('KafkaJS Consumer ready.');
+        connected = true;
+      }, 2 * 1000);
+    }
+  } catch (e) {
+    log('Consumer setup error', e && e.message);
+  }
+}
+
+app.get('/', (_req, res) => {
+  if (connected) res.send('OK');
+  else res.sendStatus(503);
+});
+
+app.get('/messages', (_req, res) => {
+  res.sendStatus(200);
+});
+
+app.listen(port, () => {
+  log(`Listening on port: ${port}`);
+  setupConsumer().catch(() => {});
+});
+
+function log() {
+  const args = Array.prototype.slice.call(arguments);
+  args[0] = logPrefix + args[0];
+  // eslint-disable-next-line no-console
+  console.log.apply(console, args);
+}
diff --git a/packages/collector/test/tracing/opentelemetry/confluent-kafka-producer-app.js b/packages/collector/test/tracing/opentelemetry/confluent-kafka-producer-app.js
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..be21046969
--- /dev/null
+++ b/packages/collector/test/tracing/opentelemetry/confluent-kafka-producer-app.js
@@ -0,0 +1,152 @@
+/*
+ * (c) Copyright IBM Corp. 2025
+ */
+
+'use strict';
+
+// NOTE: c8 bug https://github.com/bcoe/c8/issues/166
+process.on('SIGTERM', () => {
+  process.disconnect();
+  process.exit(0);
+});
+
+require('@instana/collector')();
+const express = require('express');
+const path = require('path');
+const bodyParser = require('body-parser');
+const port = require('../../test_util/app-port')();
+const logPrefix = `Confluent Kafka Producer App (${process.pid}):\t`;
+const KafkaLib = require('@confluentinc/kafka-javascript');
+
+const confluentKafkaPath = require.resolve('@confluentinc/kafka-javascript');
+const expectedLocalPath = path.resolve(__dirname, 'node_modules', '@confluentinc/kafka-javascript');
+if (!confluentKafkaPath.includes(expectedLocalPath)) {
+  throw new Error(
+    // eslint-disable-next-line max-len
+    `@confluentinc/kafka-javascript must be loaded from local node_modules. Expected path containing: ${expectedLocalPath}, but got: ${confluentKafkaPath}`
+  );
+}
+
+const app = express();
+app.use(bodyParser.json());
+
+const broker = process.env.KAFKA;
+const topic = process.env.CONFLUENT_KAFKA_TOPIC;
+// Umgebungsvariable zur Auswahl des Client-Typs
+const clientType = (process.env.KAFKA_CLIENT_TYPE || 'kafkajs').toLowerCase();
+
+let producer;
+let connected = false;
+let useRdKafka = false;
+
+async function setupProducer() {
+  if (!KafkaLib) return;
+
+  let KafkaClient;
+
+  if (clientType === 'rdkafka') {
+    // Wenn 'rdkafka' gewählt ist, verwenden wir Producer (RdKafka)
+    KafkaClient = KafkaLib.Producer || KafkaLib.RdKafka.Producer;
+    useRdKafka = true;
+    log(`Using ${clientType} (node-rdkafka) client.`);
+  } else {
+    // Standardmäßig oder bei 'kafkajs' verwenden wir KafkaJS.Kafka
+    KafkaClient = KafkaLib.KafkaJS.Kafka || KafkaLib.Kafka;
+    log(`Using ${clientType} (kafkajs) client.`);
+  }
+
+  if (!KafkaClient) {
+    log(`Error: Kafka client for type ${clientType} not found in KafkaLib.`);
+    return;
+  }
+
+  try {
+    if (useRdKafka) {
+      producer = new KafkaClient({
+        'metadata.broker.list': broker
+      });
+
+      producer.connect();
+
+      producer.on('ready', () => {
+        log('RdKafka Producer ready.');
+        connected = true;
+      });
+
+      producer.on('event.error', err => {
+        log('RdKafka Producer error:', err.message);
+      });
+    } else {
+      // kafkajs Initialisierung
+      const kafka = new KafkaClient({
+        'bootstrap.servers': broker,
+        kafkaJS: { clientId: 'confluent-producer', brokers: [broker] }
+      });
+      producer = kafka.producer();
+      await producer.connect();
+      log('KafkaJS Producer ready.');
+      connected = true;
+    }
+  } catch (e) {
+    log('Producer setup error', e && e.message);
+  }
+}
+
+app.get('/', (_req, res) => {
+  if (connected) res.send('OK');
+  else res.sendStatus(503);
+});
+
+app.get('/produce', async (req, res) => {
+  log('/produce');
+
+  const message = `${Date.now()}-${process.pid}`;
+  if (!producer) {
+    return res.status(500).send({ error: 'producer not available' });
+  }
+
+  try {
+    if (useRdKafka) {
+      // RdKafka verwendet producer.produce
+      await producer.produce(
+        topic,
+        null, // Partition (null = zufällig)
+        Buffer.from(message), // Nachricht als Buffer
+        null, // Key
+        Date.now() // Timestamp
+      );
+
+      log('RdKafka message produced.');
+
+      // RdKafka benötigt flush(), um die Nachricht sofort zu senden
+      await new Promise((resolve, reject) => {
+        producer.flush(1000, err => {
+          if (err) return reject(err);
+          resolve();
+        });
+      });
+    } else {
+      // kafkajs verwendet producer.send
+      await producer.send({ topic, messages: [{ value: message }] });
+      log('KafkaJS message produced.');
+    }
+
+    // allow small time for delivery (nur für den Testfluss notwendig)
+    await new Promise(resolve => setTimeout(resolve, 200));
+    res.send({ produced: true, message });
+  } catch (e) {
+    res.status(500).send({ error: e.message });
+  }
+});
+
+app.listen(port, () => {
+  log(`Listening on port: ${port}`);
+  setupProducer().catch(() => {});
+});
+
+function log() {
+  const args = Array.prototype.slice.call(arguments);
+  args[0] = logPrefix + args[0];
+  // eslint-disable-next-line no-console
+  console.log.apply(console, args);
+}
diff --git a/packages/collector/test/tracing/opentelemetry/confluent-kafka-producer-app.mjs b/packages/collector/test/tracing/opentelemetry/confluent-kafka-producer-app.mjs
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..bc3ca5d244
--- /dev/null
+++ b/packages/collector/test/tracing/opentelemetry/confluent-kafka-producer-app.mjs
@@ -0,0 +1,155 @@
+/*
+ * (c) Copyright IBM Corp. 2025
+ */
+
+'use strict';
+
+// NOTE: c8 bug https://github.com/bcoe/c8/issues/166
+process.on('SIGTERM', () => {
+  process.disconnect();
+  process.exit(0);
+});
+
+import express from 'express';
+import bodyParser from 'body-parser';
+import getAppPort from '../../test_util/app-port.js';
+import path from 'path';
+import { fileURLToPath } from 'url';
+import { createRequire } from 'module';
+const port = getAppPort();
+const logPrefix = `Confluent Kafka Producer App (${process.pid}):\t`;
+import KafkaLib from '@confluentinc/kafka-javascript';
+
+const require = createRequire(import.meta.url);
+const __dirname = path.dirname(fileURLToPath(import.meta.url));
+const confluentKafkaPath = require.resolve('@confluentinc/kafka-javascript');
+const expectedLocalPath = path.resolve(__dirname, 'node_modules', '@confluentinc/kafka-javascript');
+if (!confluentKafkaPath.includes(expectedLocalPath)) {
+  throw new Error(
+    `@confluentinc/kafka-javascript must be loaded from local node_modules. Expected path containing: ${expectedLocalPath}, but got: ${confluentKafkaPath}`
+  );
+}
+
+const app = express();
+app.use(bodyParser.json());
+
+const broker = process.env.KAFKA;
+const topic = process.env.CONFLUENT_KAFKA_TOPIC;
+// Umgebungsvariable zur Auswahl des Client-Typs
+const clientType = (process.env.KAFKA_CLIENT_TYPE || 'kafkajs').toLowerCase();
+
+let producer;
+let connected = false;
+let useRdKafka = false;
+
+async function setupProducer() {
+  if (!KafkaLib) return;
+
+  let KafkaClient;
+
+  if (clientType === 'rdkafka') {
+    // Wenn 'rdkafka' gewählt ist, verwenden wir Producer (RdKafka)
+    KafkaClient = KafkaLib.Producer || KafkaLib.RdKafka.Producer;
+    useRdKafka = true;
+    log(`Using ${clientType} (node-rdkafka) client.`);
+  } else {
+    // Standardmäßig oder bei 'kafkajs' verwenden wir KafkaJS.Kafka
+    KafkaClient = KafkaLib.KafkaJS.Kafka || KafkaLib.Kafka;
+    log(`Using ${clientType} (kafkajs) client.`);
+  }
+
+  if (!KafkaClient) {
+    log(`Error: Kafka client for type ${clientType} not found in KafkaLib.`);
+    return;
+  }
+
+  try {
+    if (useRdKafka) {
+      producer = new KafkaClient({
+        'metadata.broker.list': broker
+      });
+
+      producer.connect();
+
+      producer.on('ready', () => {
+        log('RdKafka Producer ready.');
+        connected = true;
+      });
+
+      producer.on('event.error', err => {
+        log('RdKafka Producer error:', err.message);
+      });
+    } else {
+      // kafkajs Initialisierung
+      const kafka = new KafkaClient({
+        'bootstrap.servers': broker,
+        kafkaJS: { clientId: 'confluent-producer', brokers: [broker] }
+      });
+      producer = kafka.producer();
+      await producer.connect();
+      log('KafkaJS Producer ready.');
+      connected = true;
+    }
+  } catch (e) {
+    log('Producer setup error', e && e.message);
+  }
+}
+
+app.get('/', (_req, res) => {
+  if (connected) res.send('OK');
+  else res.sendStatus(503);
+});
+
+app.get('/produce', async (req, res) => {
+  log('/produce');
+
+  const message = `${Date.now()}-${process.pid}`;
+  if (!producer) {
+    return res.status(500).send({ error: 'producer not available' });
+  }
+
+  try {
+    if (useRdKafka) {
+      // RdKafka verwendet producer.produce
+      await producer.produce(
+        topic,
+        null, // Partition (null = zufällig)
+        Buffer.from(message), // Nachricht als Buffer
+        null, // Key
+        Date.now() // Timestamp
+      );
+
+      log('RdKafka message produced.');
+
+      // RdKafka benötigt flush(), um die Nachricht sofort zu senden
+      await new Promise((resolve, reject) => {
+        producer.flush(1000, err => {
+          if (err) return reject(err);
+          resolve();
+        });
+      });
+    } else {
+      // kafkajs verwendet producer.send
+      await producer.send({ topic, messages: [{ value: message }] });
+      log('KafkaJS message produced.');
+    }
+
+    // allow small time for delivery (nur für den Testfluss notwendig)
+    await new Promise(resolve => setTimeout(resolve, 200));
+    res.send({ produced: true, message });
+  } catch (e) {
+    res.status(500).send({ error: e.message });
+  }
+});
+
+app.listen(port, () => {
+  log(`Listening on port: ${port}`);
+  setupProducer().catch(() => {});
+});
+
+function log() {
+  const args = Array.prototype.slice.call(arguments);
+  args[0] = logPrefix + args[0];
+  // eslint-disable-next-line no-console
+  console.log.apply(console, args);
+}
diff --git a/packages/collector/test/tracing/opentelemetry/test.js b/packages/collector/test/tracing/opentelemetry/test.js
index bf9dbcd733..8421560f34 100644
--- a/packages/collector/test/tracing/opentelemetry/test.js
+++ b/packages/collector/test/tracing/opentelemetry/test.js
@@ -26,10 +26,13 @@ const ProcessControls = require('../../test_util/ProcessControls');
 const globalAgent = require('../../globalAgent');
 const DELAY_TIMEOUT_IN_MS = 500;
 const mochaSuiteFn = supportedVersion(process.versions.node) ? describe : describe.skip;
+const agentControls = globalAgent.instance;
 
 mochaSuiteFn('opentelemetry tests', function () {
   this.timeout(config.getTestTimeout() * 2);
 
+  globalAgent.setUpCleanUpHooks();
+
   before(() => {
     if (process.env.INSTANA_TEST_SKIP_INSTALLING_DEPS === 'true') {
       return;
@@ -38,6 +41,8 @@ mochaSuiteFn('opentelemetry tests', function () {
     execSync('rm -rf package-lock.json', { cwd: __dirname, stdio: 'inherit' });
     execSync('rm -rf package.json', { cwd: __dirname, stdio: 'inherit' });
     execSync('rm -rf node_modules', { cwd: __dirname, stdio: 'inherit' });
+    execSync('rm -rf collector.tgz', { cwd: __dirname, stdio: 'inherit' });
+    execSync('rm -rf core.tgz', { cwd: __dirname, stdio: 'inherit' });
     execSync('./preinstall.sh', { cwd: __dirname, stdio: 'inherit' });
   });
 
@@ -62,20 +67,161 @@ mochaSuiteFn('opentelemetry tests', function () {
           stdio: 'inherit'
         });
 
+        // eslint-disable-next-line no-console
+        console.log('Installed core.tgz');
+
         execSync('npm install --save --prefix ./ ./collector.tgz', {
           cwd: __dirname,
           stdio: 'inherit'
         });
 
+        // eslint-disable-next-line no-console
+        console.log('Installed collector.tgz');
+
         execSync('npm install --save --prefix ./ @opentelemetry/api@1.9.0', {
           cwd: __dirname,
           stdio: 'inherit'
         });
 
+        // eslint-disable-next-line no-console
+        console.log('Installed @opentelemetry/api@1.9.0');
+
         execSync('npm install --save --prefix ./ "@opentelemetry/api-v1.3.0@npm:@opentelemetry/api@1.3.0"', {
           cwd: __dirname,
           stdio: 'inherit'
         });
+
+        // eslint-disable-next-line no-console
+        console.log('Installed @opentelemetry/api-v1.3.0@npm:@opentelemetry/api@1.3.0');
+      });
+
+      // node bin/start-test-containers.js --zookeeper --kafka --schema-registry --kafka-topics
+      describe('tracing/confluent-kafka', function () {
+        let producerControls;
+        const topic = 'confluent-kafka-topic';
+
+        before(async () => {
+          if (process.env.INSTANA_TEST_SKIP_INSTALLING_DEPS !== 'true') {
+            const rootPackageJson = require('../../../../../package.json');
+            const confluentKafkaVersion = rootPackageJson.devDependencies['@confluentinc/kafka-javascript'];
+            // Install only kafka-javascript, use flags to prevent npm from removing existing packages
+            execSync(`npm i "@confluentinc/kafka-javascript@${confluentKafkaVersion}" --prefix ./ --save`, {
+              cwd: __dirname,
+              stdio: 'inherit'
+            });
+
+            // eslint-disable-next-line no-console
+            console.log('Installed kafka-javascript');
+          }
+
+          producerControls = new ProcessControls({
+            appPath: path.join(__dirname, 'confluent-kafka-producer-app.js'),
+            useGlobalAgent: true,
+            cwd: __dirname,
+            enableOtelIntegration: true,
+            esmLoaderPath: path.join(__dirname, 'node_modules', '@instana', 'collector', 'esm-register.mjs'),
+            env: {
+              CONFLUENT_KAFKA_TOPIC: topic
+            }
+          });
+
+          await producerControls.startAndWaitForAgentConnection();
+        });
+
+        beforeEach(async () => {
+          await agentControls.clearReceivedTraceData();
+        });
+
+        after(async () => {
+          await producerControls.stop();
+        });
+
+        afterEach(async () => {
+          await producerControls.clearIpcMessages();
+        });
+
+        describe('consuming message', function () {
+          let consumerControls;
+
+          before(async () => {
+            consumerControls = new ProcessControls({
+              appPath: path.join(__dirname, 'confluent-kafka-consumer-app.js'),
+              useGlobalAgent: true,
+              enableOtelIntegration: true,
+              esmLoaderPath: path.join(__dirname, 'node_modules', '@instana', 'collector', 'esm-register.mjs'),
+              env: {
+                CONFLUENT_KAFKA_TOPIC: topic
+              }
+            });
+
+            await consumerControls.startAndWaitForAgentConnection();
+          });
+
+          beforeEach(async () => {
+            await agentControls.clearReceivedTraceData();
+          });
+
+          after(async () => {
+            await consumerControls.stop();
+          });
+
+          afterEach(async () => {
+            await consumerControls.clearIpcMessages();
+          });
+
+          const apiPath = '/produce';
+
+          it('produces and consumes a message', async () => {
+            const response = await producerControls.sendRequest({
+              method: 'GET',
+              path: apiPath
+            });
+
+            expect(response.produced).to.equal(true);
+
+            return retry(() => {
+              return agentControls.getSpans().then(spans => {
+                expect(spans.length).to.equal(3);
+
+                const httpEntry = verifyHttpRootEntry({
+                  spans,
+                  apiPath: '/produce',
+                  pid: String(producerControls.getPid())
+                });
+
+                verifyExitSpan({
+                  spanName: 'otel',
+                  spans,
+                  parent: httpEntry,
+                  withError: false,
+                  pid: String(producerControls.getPid()),
+                  dataProperty: 'tags',
+                  extraTests: span => {
+                    expect(span.data.tags.name).to.eql('confluent-kafka-topic');
+                    expect(span.data.tags['messaging.system']).to.equal('kafka');
+                    expect(span.data.tags['messaging.operation.name']).to.equal('produce');
+                    checkTelemetryResourceAttrs(span);
+                  }
+                });
+
+                verifyEntrySpan({
+                  spanName: 'otel',
+                  spans,
+                  parent: httpEntry,
+                  withError: false,
+                  pid: String(producerControls.getPid()),
+                  dataProperty: 'tags',
+                  extraTests: span => {
+                    expect(span.data.tags.name).to.eql('confluent-kafka-topic');
+                    expect(span.data.tags['messaging.system']).to.equal('kafka');
+                    expect(span.data.tags['messaging.operation.type']).to.equal('deliver');
+                    checkTelemetryResourceAttrs(span);
+                  }
+                });
+              });
+            });
+          });
+        });
       });
 
       // TODO: Restify test is broken in v24. See Issue: https://github.com/restify/node-restify/issues/1984
@@ -88,7 +234,6 @@ mochaSuiteFn('opentelemetry tests', function () {
       restifyTest('restify', function () {
         describe('opentelemetry is enabled', function () {
           globalAgent.setUpCleanUpHooks();
-          const agentControls = globalAgent.instance;
 
           let controls;
 
@@ -231,9 +376,6 @@ mochaSuiteFn('opentelemetry tests', function () {
         });
 
         describe('opentelemetry is disabled', function () {
-          globalAgent.setUpCleanUpHooks();
-          const agentControls = globalAgent.instance;
-
           let controls;
 
           before(async () => {
@@ -302,7 +444,6 @@ mochaSuiteFn('opentelemetry tests', function () {
 
       runFs('fs', function () {
         globalAgent.setUpCleanUpHooks();
-        const agentControls = globalAgent.instance;
 
         let controls;
 
@@ -427,8 +568,6 @@ mochaSuiteFn('opentelemetry tests', function () {
       }
 
       runSocketIo('socket.io', function () {
-        globalAgent.setUpCleanUpHooks();
-        const agentControls = globalAgent.instance;
         let socketIOServerPort;
 
         let serverControls;
@@ -588,8 +727,6 @@ mochaSuiteFn('opentelemetry tests', function () {
 
       describe('tedious', function () {
         describe('opentelemetry is enabled', function () {
-          globalAgent.setUpCleanUpHooks();
-          const agentControls = globalAgent.instance;
           let controls;
 
           // We need to increase the waiting timeout here for the initial azure connection,
@@ -698,8 +835,6 @@ mochaSuiteFn('opentelemetry tests', function () {
         });
 
         describe('opentelemetry is disabled', function () {
-          globalAgent.setUpCleanUpHooks();
-          const agentControls = globalAgent.instance;
           let controls;
 
           before(async () => {
@@ -749,9 +884,6 @@ mochaSuiteFn('opentelemetry tests', function () {
         this.timeout(1000 * 60);
 
         describe('opentelemetry is enabled', function () {
-          globalAgent.setUpCleanUpHooks();
-          const agentControls = globalAgent.instance;
-
           let controls;
 
           before(async () => {
@@ -826,9 +958,6 @@ mochaSuiteFn('opentelemetry tests', function () {
         });
 
         describe('opentelemetry is disabled', function () {
-          globalAgent.setUpCleanUpHooks();
-          const agentControls = globalAgent.instance;
-
           let controls;
 
           before(async () => {
@@ -901,9 +1030,6 @@ mochaSuiteFn('opentelemetry tests', function () {
     });
 
     describe('when openTelemetry initialized first', function () {
-      globalAgent.setUpCleanUpHooks();
-      const agentControls = globalAgent.instance;
-
       let controls;
       before(async () => {
         controls = new ProcessControls({
@@ -1001,9 +1127,6 @@ mochaSuiteFn('opentelemetry tests', function () {
     });
 
     describe('when Collector initialized first', function () {
-      globalAgent.setUpCleanUpHooks();
-      const agentControls = globalAgent.instance;
-
       let controls;
 
       before(async () => {
diff --git a/packages/core/package.json b/packages/core/package.json
index 0c54ac7fa9..ca7dd4af42 100644
--- a/packages/core/package.json
+++ b/packages/core/package.json
@@ -57,6 +57,7 @@
   },
   "homepage": "https://github.com/instana/nodejs/blob/main/packages/core/README.md",
   "dependencies": {
+    "@drazke/instrumentation-confluent-kafka-javascript": "https://github.com/kirrg001/instrumentation-confluent-kafka-javascript/releases/download/1.0.1/drazke-instrumentation-confluent-kafka-javascript-1.0.1.tgz",
     "@opentelemetry/api": ">=1.3.0 <1.10.0",
     "@opentelemetry/context-async-hooks": "1.25.0",
     "@opentelemetry/instrumentation-fs": "0.28.0",
diff --git a/packages/core/src/tracing/opentelemetry-instrumentations/confluent-kafka.js b/packages/core/src/tracing/opentelemetry-instrumentations/confluent-kafka.js
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..e2ff5c1388
--- /dev/null
+++ b/packages/core/src/tracing/opentelemetry-instrumentations/confluent-kafka.js
@@ -0,0 +1,31 @@
+/*
+ * (c) Copyright IBM Corp. 2025
+ */
+
+'use strict';
+
+const constants = require('../constants');
+
+const isEntrySpan = otelSpan => otelSpan.attributes?.['messaging.operation.type'] === 'deliver';
+
+module.exports.init = () => {
+  // NOTE: Otel instrumentations sometimes require the target library TYPE to mock on top of their instrumentation.
+  //       This works, because "import type" does not load the target library.
+  // eslint-disable-next-line max-len
+  // EXAMPLE: https://github.com/open-telemetry/opentelemetry-js-contrib/blob/instrumentation-express-v0.57.1/packages/instrumentation-express/src/instrumentation.ts#L25
+  const { ConfluentKafkaInstrumentation } = require('@drazke/instrumentation-confluent-kafka-javascript');
+
+  const instrumentation = new ConfluentKafkaInstrumentation();
+
+  if (!instrumentation.getConfig().enabled) {
+    instrumentation.enable();
+  }
+};
+
+module.exports.getKind = otelSpan => {
+  if (isEntrySpan(otelSpan)) {
+    return constants.ENTRY;
+  }
+
+  return constants.EXIT;
+};
diff --git a/packages/core/src/tracing/opentelemetry-instrumentations/wrap.js b/packages/core/src/tracing/opentelemetry-instrumentations/wrap.js
index b99141249b..222621e9c2 100644
--- a/packages/core/src/tracing/opentelemetry-instrumentations/wrap.js
+++ b/packages/core/src/tracing/opentelemetry-instrumentations/wrap.js
@@ -21,7 +21,8 @@ const instrumentations = {
   '@opentelemetry/instrumentation-restify': { name: 'restify' },
   '@opentelemetry/instrumentation-socket.io': { name: 'socket.io' },
   '@opentelemetry/instrumentation-tedious': { name: 'tedious' },
-  '@opentelemetry/instrumentation-oracledb': { name: 'oracle' }
+  '@opentelemetry/instrumentation-oracledb': { name: 'oracle' },
+  '@drazke/instrumentation-confluent-kafka-javascript': { name: 'confluent-kafka' }
 };
 
 // NOTE: using a logger might create a recursive execution