Kenya grants tea factories direct access to international markets

Nairobi: Kenya s Ministry of Agriculture on Friday announced a new policy recommendation, allowing all 142 tea factories nationwide to sell the commod...

Nairobi: Kenya's Ministry of Agriculture on Friday announced a new policy recommendation, allowing all 142 tea factories nationwide to sell the commodity directly to the international market.

Mutahi Kagwe, cabinet secretary in the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock Development, said the new policy shift eliminates intermediaries and significantly improves tea farmers' profit margins.

"We want to ensure better returns for farmers, strengthen governance in the tea sub-sector and promote transparency in smallholder tea factories," Kagwe said in Nyeri, central Kenya, during the celebrations for International Tea Day.

Kagwe said that the latest policy shift augments Kenya's marketing strategies toward increased earnings for smallholder tea farmers amid intensifying efforts to penetrate emerging international markets.

"I am soon leading a high-level delegation that will include the Tea Board of Kenya (TBK), Kenya Tea Development Agency and the East African Tea Trade Association (EATTA) to key destinations such as China, India, Russia, and the Middle East to promote Kenya's tea," Kagwe said.