Tea leaf hawking a threat to factories operations, KTDA chairman Kirundi warns

Tea leaf hawking is a is a phenomenal threat facing the tea sector in the country, Kenya Tea Development Agency (KTDA) chairman Chege Kirundi, has said.

Kirundi was speaking during a tea stakeholders’ forum chaired by Agriculture and Livestock Cabinet Secretary Mutahi Kagwe, explained that tea hawking was particularly prevalent in the western region and required urgent attention.

“We have invested heavily in setting up tea factories; unfortunately, some of these factories are operating below capacity because we cannot source enough produce due to tea hawking. This has posed a serious challenge to our tea factories in the western region,” he said.

The remarks were made while Kagwe visited the Chai Trading Company warehouses in Miritini, Mombasa yesterday to assess progress in addressing challenges in Kenya’s tea sector.

As a subsidiary of Kenya Tea Development Agency (KTDA) — Holdings Limited responsible for marketing Kenyan tea globally, Chai Trading plays a key role in enhancing the industry’s global footprint.

Commending the contractor building the Common User Facility at Chai Trading, the CS noted that the project will be completed ahead of schedule. He also inspected ongoing extensions to the warehouse infrastructure —an initiative set to reduce farmers’ costs on storage.

The visit highlighted advanced systems and processes being implemented to improve tea quality, volume, traceability, and value, strengthening brand Kenya’s competitiveness in global markets and maximizing farmers’ earnings.

Significant progress has been made in clearing unsold tea.

Following a presidential directive, 97 per cent of the 106million kilograms of surplus tea at the Mombasa auction has been sold, leaving only 3.7million kilograms.

New strategies are underway to ensure timely sales for better returns.

Kagwe underscored the importance of collaboration in overcoming challenges in the tea trade, including the formation of a Tea Council to unite stakeholders in advancing the shared goal of increasing farmers’ incomes.

The CS was accompanied by among others, KTDA chairman Kirundi and CEO Wilson Muthaura as well as Tea Board of Kenya CEO Willy Mutai.

Kirundi stressed the need for sharing data on key aspects of the tea sector, particularly so that farmers are informed about the data driving the issue of tea hawking in the country.

He called for the sharing of information on tea producers, including their details, and added that governance should include full disclosure of beneficial shareholders.

“We request full disclosure in terms of governance and the introduction of new ethical management practices in trade, which will help us understand how to compete and develop competitive strategies for moving forward.”

He also singled out taxation as another significant challenge facing the tea industry and urged the CS to consider suspending some taxes or abolishing them altogether, as they were damaging the sector.

“We want to reiterate that the government should review the issue of taxation in the tea sector, as it is negatively affecting the industry,” he said.

Kirundi noted that tea marketing was a critical issue for KTDA, and more efforts would be dedicated to marketing initiatives.

He also highlighted production costs as another challenge in the tea industry that required attention.

He added that KTDA had introduced new initiatives refocusing on the tea farmer, as the agency’s priority is to ensure that tea farmers receive fair value for their produce.

Kirundi noted that many of the challenges facing the tea industry would be addressed by a report launched by Mr Kagwe, which provides data to spur development in the tea sector.

“On behalf of tea growers, I expect that you disclose all the players KTDA is competing with and those we collaborate with. In terms of the East African Tea Trade Association (EATTA), let us have full disclosure of its members,” he said.

He added that it was important for tea farmers to know who they are dealing with, including buyers, hawkers, and producers, as part of efforts to improve governance in the management of the tea sector.

Kirundi concluded that although tea farmers have been recognised as key players in the tea industry, they receive the least of what is generated from the sector. He emphasised that the focus should be on improving the welfare of tea farmers.