KENYA – The Kenyan government has announced plans to broaden the country’s tea export market in an effort to boost farmers’ earnings.
Agriculture Cabinet Secretary Mithika Linturi revealed that the Tea Board of Kenya will soon unveil a comprehensive action plan targeting both existing and new export destinations.
“Tea Board will be unveiling a five-year tea industry global market expansion strategy covering 13 priority markets,” Linturi stated.
He emphasized the importance of branding Kenyan tea to increase its global visibility and announced that Kenyan tea will be labeled with a mark of origin to enhance brand recognition. “This will go a long way in enhancing tea farmers’ earnings,” he added.
Linturi highlighted that through public-private partnerships, tea industry stakeholders are encouraged to set up common user facilities in designated Special Economic Zones where the government has provided incentives for tea value addition.
He expressed the government’s goal to export at least 50 percent of processed and branded tea within the next three to five years.
According to the Tea Board of Kenya, the tea industry earned the country Kes196 billion (US$1.48B) last year, with Kes180 billion (US$1.36B) coming from exports and Kes16 billion (US$120.53M) from local sales.
Kenya’s tea industry performance for February 2024 indicates that Kenyan tea was shipped to 53 export destinations, up from 48 during the same period last year.
The report showed that Pakistan remained the leading export destination for Kenyan tea, importing 16.44 million kgs, accounting for 30.6 percent of the total export volume.
“The top 10 export destinations, most of which are traditional markets for Kenyan tea, accounted for 83 percent of Kenya’s tea export volume. Apart from Iran and Yemen, the other traditional markets recorded increased imports of Kenyan tea,” the Tea Board of Kenya noted.
Tea bonus payouts
Concurrently, Kenya Tea Development Agency (KTDA) Chairman Enos Njeru projected this year’s tea bonus at Kes60 (US$0.45) per kilogram and accused a section of politicians of spreading misinformation to cause confusion among farmers.
Addressing residents, Njeru emphasized that some politicians have falsely claimed the bonus would be Kes80 (US$0.60) to mislead and create unrest among tea farmers. He urged farmers to disregard these false projections and trust the official figures provided by KTDA.
Njeru highlighted the ongoing reforms within the KTDA aimed at increasing transparency and ensuring that farmers receive the full benefits of their labor.
He reaffirmed the agency’s commitment to improving the welfare of tea farmers through strategic reforms designed to streamline operations and enhance profitability.
Meanwhile, the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) has been selected to manage the upcoming elections for the directors of KTDA in an agreement with the Tea Board of Kenya (TBK).
The Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between the two agencies stipulates that the IEBC will supervise the voting process across the seven regions in the country, providing all requisite voting materials for the poll scheduled for next month.
Over 600,000 tea farmers from the 54 KTDA-managed factories across the country will participate in the elections, which will be conducted through a secret ballot system based on the “one farmer, one vote” principle.
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