TEA NEWS #tea news

Kericho County Governor Paul Chepkwony narrated his administration’s frustration in trying to negotiate with the United Kingdom government to settle the matter. Chepkwony’s family were among villagers brutally evicted by the British from Timbilil to pave way for tea plantation now owned by Unilever tea company on a 99-year-lease.

Tea growers from seven tea factories in Murang'a County have finalised plans to hold special general meetings to reportedly oust directors through a vote of no confidence.

The President had on March 12 issued an order for the elections of directors to be conducted within 60 days. In Summary • The elections for the 54 tea factories will start from March 20 until May 22, 2021. • KTDA manages 69 smallholder tea factories which account for approximately 60 per cent of tea production in Kenya.

In Summary • The farmers have for years been agitating for reforms which seemed plausible with the drafting and passing of the Tea Act last December • The President heard the farmers’ cries and issued an Executive order on Friday directing the Attorney General to conduct an inquiry

SELECTIVE DEMAND GOOD DEMAND AT GENERALLY EASIER RATES

Farmers in the Mount Kenya region will now receive Sh5 more per kilo of tea delivered to factories monthly as the Kenya Tea Development Agency (KTDA) moves to increase their pay and end the March mini-bonus payout.The growers will receive Sh21 per kilo of the green leaf up from the current Sh16 monthly advance payment.The new payment mode will be implemented this month.

President Kenyatta has also ordered elections of directors of the various factories to be conducted within the next 60 days and ordered the Cabinet Secretary for Interior Fred Matiang'i and CS for Agriculture Peter Munya to ensure the "full implementation" of the Executive Order.

Senior management and board members of the Kenya Tea Development Agency (KTDA) may be headed home as the government kicks off an investigation into the operations of the agency. President Uhuru Kenyatta yesterday directed the Attorney General to conduct an inquiry into allegations of statutory and regulatory breaches committed by KTDA, one of the largest tea industry players in Kenya.Among the ills KTDA is accused of include price fixing and abusing its dominance and having a grip on more than 620,000 smallholders.The president also noted that the company may have in numerous instances acted contrary to Kenyan laws, including the Companies Act.

Kericho County is located in the highlands west of the Kenyan Rift Valley with a population of 901,800 and an area of 2,11km2. The county is home to the Kipsigis sub-tribe of the Kalenjin tribe. Its climate has made the county the leading tea producing region in the country and home to the best Kenyan tea, which is renowned worldwide for its taste.

Tea Market Report Sale 10-2021 GOOD DEMAND CLOSELY FOLLOWING QUALITY

For the last seven years, KTDA Holdings has paid Sh3.8 billion dividends, all generated by the subsidiary companies.

The Government has effected new changes at the Agriculture and Food Authority (AFA) ahead of the planned reorganization of the sector. Anthony Muriithi who was the Acting Director General of the authority since October 2018 has been move to Rome, Italy to serve at the Kenyan Embassy.