TEA NEWS

Nandi, Bomet and Kericho, which are tea growing counties in the Rift Valley, are demanding that multinational tea companies start paying land rates of Sh10,000 per acre up from Sh100 that they have been paying since 1926. Now, it’s estimated that these multinational companies hold more than 500,000 acres of tea plantations in Kericho, meaning the county expects to receive Sh5 billion.

SELECTIVE DEMAND, STRONG ON QUALITY BP1 : Best East KTDA dearer 30/100 cts and sometimes more, others firm to dearer 5/20 cts, West KTDA mostly firm on reserve prices, Nandi dearer upto 60/70 cts, Limuru firm, Kericho firm to dearer 2/25 cts, Uganda irregularly dearer 2/10 cts, to easier by the same.

Multinationals push for minimum USD 1.83 (Sh200) price for a kilo of tea. The multinational tea firms want to set the minimum price of tea at more than Sh200 for a kilo to break even, which will be Sh20 above the reserve price the government set on purchases of the smallholders’ produce.

GOOD DEMAND AT FIRM TO DEARER RATES WITH OUTLOTS DUE TO RESERVE LIMITS BP1 : East KTDA firm to 10 cts dearer. West KTDA 14/20 cts dearer meeting reserve prices on selected marks. Nandi 6/32 cts dearer. Limuru 8/17 cts dearer. Kericho firm to 20 cts dearer. Uganda irregularly firm to 10 cts dearer and 2/10 cts easier following quality. PF1 : East KTDA 4/20 cts dearer. West KTDA 16/20 cts dearer meeting reserve prices on selected marks. Nandi 4/16 cts dearer, Limuru 2/14 cts dearer, Kericho firm to 20 cts dearer. Uganda 8/26 cts dearer.

The industry supports over 650,000 farmers and over 6.5 million people In Summary • The teas sold at an average of Sh264 per kg in the week ended August 2 compared to Sh249.17 at the previous auction. • This as the market continued to positively embrace the minimum price regime that was introduced in July 2021.

Storm in a tea plantation: UK should pay for forcing Kenyan tribes off their land, says UN

Tea Market Report Sale 31-2021

UN criticises UK for failure to redress colonial-era landgrab in Kenya

• According to the Mombasa Tea Auction Market Report, in the auction number 28, which took place on July 12, 2021, the volumes of tea sold by KTDA managed factories dropped by 89 percent compared to auction 27, which attained an absorption rate of eight percent of offered teas. • The report indicated that the average price improved by 25 percent from Sh221.31 per kg to Sh278.81 per kg for the specific gardens that sold. This is a growth of Sh56 per kg.

FAIR DEMAND AT IRREGULAR RATES FOLLOWING QUALITY

Tea plucking machines leave thousands jobless

KTDA set the minimum reserve price for processed tea in an unprecedented move aimed at cushioning smallholder farmers. • In this week’s auction, the absorption rate of offered teas improved to 19 per cent, while the average price appreciated by 22 per cent. • Absorption in upcoming auctions is further expected to improve as the market aligns itself to the new prices.