TEA NEWS

•In reaching the conclusion, the committees said that they considered the Regulations at length and received submissions from various stakeholders who made both written and oral submissions. •Some of the stakeholders the committees engaged included farmers from Nandi, Bomet, Kericho and Murang’a Counties; the Kenya Tea Development Agency and its subsidiary companies and their representatives; East African To Trade Association; and the Council of County Governors.

• KTDA Managing Director Alfred Njagi attributed the increase in green leaf production to favourable weather conditions in the tea growing areas. • This is the highest production ever recorded within a period of four months in KTDA’s history.

FAIR DEMAND FOLLOWING QUALITY

very good demand

Trade between Kenya and Pakistan hits USD 1B annually

Currently, KTDA uses a voting system based on the number of shares a farmer has, a system which many farmers claim only favoured those with big farms and many shares.

Good demand

Five tea factories managed by the Kenya Tea Development Agency in Meru County have embarked on a beekeeping venture as part of their long-term revenue diversification strategy and environmental sustainability program.

VERY GOOD DEMAND

The bonus payment is slightly lower than last year’s final payment of Ksh.28.8 billion. Nevertheless, the farmers’ total payment for the year is up by 11.6 per cent at Ksh.51.9 billion from Ksh.46.5 billion in 2019. Tea factories in Murang'a have paid out the highest cumulative compensation to farmers at Ksh.9.8 billion ahead of Meru and Kirinyaga at Ksh.5.8 billion and Ksh.5.4 billion respectively.

IMPROVED DEMAND AT MOSTLY DEARER RATES

• While Agriculture CS Peter Munya is pro new regulations, KDTA is in opposition • The authority believes the regulations will reduce its influence on the tea trade