TEA NEWS #tea news

Indian tea flavours like Assam, Darjeeling and Nilgiri are among the finest in the world. But we have not been able to capitalise on our potential for tea export.

Tea Market Report Sale 41-2021 GOOD DEMAND AT DEARER RATES BP1 : Selected best East KTDA dearer 4/10 cts with others easier up to 15 cts, West KTDA dearer 8/15 cts, Nandi dearer 6 cts to easier 5 cts, Limuru dearer 10 cts to easier by same margin, Kericho dearer up to 10 cts, Uganda steady to easier 5 cts.

The commodity has averaged $1.70 dollars for the better part of the year. In Summary •The preferred auction price is above $2 per kilo. •Last week, directors from the 54 KTDA-managed factories started to hold meetings to review annual audited accounts, to be followed by declaration of bonuses.

The government has ordered an audit of all Kenya Tea Development Agency (KTDA) factories in what Agriculture CS Peter Munya said will help stamp out exploitation of small-scale farmers as well as improve their monthly earnings. The auditing, which is also aimed at eradicating duplication of roles, will begin at KTDA head office then cover all the 69 factories under the authority.

Africa’s forest cover is on a steady decline, weakening the ability of the continent’s ecosystems to withstand climate change. From the tropical rainforests of the Congo Basin to the Guinean Forests of West Africa to the Coastal Forests of East Africa, entire forests are being eliminated slowly but surely.

The drought situation in parts of Kenya is expected to worsen, with the meteorological department predicting La Niña from October. In a report, Stella Aura, the director of Kenya Meteorological Department, said the climate outlook for the October-November-December (OND) 2021 short rains season indicates that most parts of the country are likely to experience depressed rainfall.

Counties have been warned against selling their teas directly to international source markets bypassing the Mombasa Tea Auction. This comes as the Covid-19 pandemic continues to disrupt businesses affecting many sectors including tea.

•The fee came into place in when Kenya initiated taxation of Pakistan rice at 75 per cent under the East African Community (EAC) protocol in the year 2007. •The two countries also also working on a number of MoUs on cooperation in trade and investment.

Tea farmers now uproot crop due to poor returns, corrupt officials

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.

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.

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