Kenya forms task force to address unsold tea crisis at Mombasa auction 

KENYA – The Kenyan government has established a 21-member task force to address the alarming accumulation of unsold tea, estimated to have reached 100 million kilogrammes.  

The task force, announced by Agriculture Cabinet Secretary Andrew Karanja, will investigate the root causes of this issue and its impact on the tea sub-sector while proposing actionable solutions. 

Chaired by Nicholas Munyi Kagua, the task force has 60 days to complete its mandate, though its term may be extended, as per the Gazette Notice issued on November 15.  

The task force will report directly to the Cabinet Secretary for Agriculture and Livestock Development and will be supported by a secretariat of six members led by Seth Masese. 

The task force’s terms of reference include examining the effects of the minimum reserve price, implemented in 2021 to safeguard farmers’ earnings, on the unsold tea stock. The government suspended the reserve price in August 2024 to stimulate sales and reduce inventory.  

Additional areas of investigation include delayed payments, warehousing conditions, and the quality and shelf life of unsold teas. 

Part of the scope also includes investigating the reasons for the huge differences in tea prices between the East of Rift and West of Rift and make appropriate proposals. 

The task force will further examine the performance of KTDA (Kenya Tea Development Agency) factories, the impact of private factories in the West Rift on prices and trade, and the influence of an increasing number of tea blenders at auctions. 

The findings and recommendations from the task force will be compiled into a final report to be submitted within 14 days after its 60-day period ends.  

The team is expected to engage with stakeholders from the tea sector across the country through meetings and public forums. 

This move comes as a response to challenges that have plagued the sector, including stalled sales and warehouse overstock.  

However, the formation of the new task force has raised concerns over the government’s failure to implement previous recommendations from a 2016 task force report. 

Additionally, in 2014, a National Tea Industry Task Force outlined 13 recommendations across six key areas, many of these were not fully implemented, leading to persistent issues in the sector.  

Among the key suggestions from that report were improving tea grades, adding value, and increasing marketing efforts abroad. 

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