The Tea Industry in Kenya
Background
Kenya is a fascinating country with many unique features, including the snow-capped Mount Kenya, the Great Rift Valley with some geothermal activity, the vast plains teeming with wildlife, and the sunny and sandy beaches along the coastline.Â
Kenya is located astride the Equator and borders Tanzania, Uganda, Sudan, Ethiopia, Somalia, and the Indian Ocean.
Nairobi, the capital of Kenya, is located in the center of the continent and acts as the commercial and communication center for East and Central Africa. Mombasa, a historic city, is home to Kilindini, the region’s natural harbor, and is the gateway to the country.
Aside from these attractions, Kenya is well-known worldwide for producing excellent tea.
The Ministry of Agriculture provides technical and policy direction for the tea sector.
From the top regulating authority, the Tea Directorate of the Tea Research Foundation of Kenya, to the producers, and factories that manufacture tea, the trade, and the blending and packing businesses, the sector is well-structured.
The Tea Directorate
To control the production and cultivation of tea, the Tea Act (Cap 343) established the Tea Directorate on June 13, 1950.
The Directorate’s mandate, as stated in the Tea (Amendment) Act 1999, encompasses the following: granting licenses to factories that manufacture tea; conducting research on tea through its technical arm, the Tea Research Foundation of Kenya; registering growers, buyers, brokers, packers, management agents, and anyone else involved in the tea industry; and promoting Kenyan tea in both domestic and foreign markets.
In addition, the Directorate provides information about tea and counsels the government on all policy issues about the tea sector.
The Kenya Tea Development Agency Limited, the Kenya Tea Growers Association, and the East African Tea Trade Association are just a few of the groups that the Directorate collaborates closely with the Ministry of Agriculture and other government agencies to carry out its mandate.
The Directorate represents each of these groups and concerns. Six of the sixteen members of the Directorate are smallholder farmers, four are plantation tea growers, and one is involved in the tea trade.
The Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Agriculture and the Director of Agriculture are the two government representatives in the Directorate, together with two additional members chosen by the Directorate itself.
A member of the Directorate by ex officio status is the Managing Director.
The Directorate selects its Chairman from among the members of the Directorate who represent tea producers by the Tea (Amendment) Act.
Other Key Bodies in the Tea Industry
The Research Foundation of Kenya (TRFK)
The Tea Directorate’s technical branch, the Foundation, is headquartered in Kerich.
Research on disease and pest management, improved planting material, husbandry, yields, and quality are among its primary responsibilities.
Regarding the appropriate clonal selection for each ecological zone, the Foundation offers advice to farmers.
The TRFK has created more than 45 clones that are well-suited thus far.
Kenya Tea Development Agency (KTDA) Ltd.
On July 1st, 2000, KTDA Ltd. was established as a private corporation to assume the responsibilities and duties of the previous Kenya Tea Development Authority.
The Agency gathers green tea leaves, processes the tea, and promotes it on behalf of smallholder tea farmers, offering them advice on the best ways to grow tea.
Dispersed over all tea-growing regions, the smallholder subsector contributes more than 60% of the total output from 54 licensed tea factories that supply more than 400,000 growers.
Kenya Tea Growers Association (KTGA)
Large-scale tea producers founded the Association in 1931 to advance the shared interests of the members of the plantation sub-sector in the production and cultivation of tea, as well as to foster positive workplace dynamics and sensible worker wage practices.
Growers who manage more than 10 hectares of tea are eligible to become members of the Association.
While smaller estates and other outgrows supply leave to already-existing tea factories, the majority of large estate owners produce tea in their factories.
Retaining 39 tea factories, the plantation sub-sector makes up roughly 40% of the entire output.
East African Tea Trade Association (EATTA)
The Association unites African buyers, packers, brokers, and manufacturers of tea.
Its goal is to advance the interests of the African tea industry by promoting the orderly selling of tea, building relationships among participants, and gathering and disseminating statistical data that members require to conduct business.
The Association’s Rules provide that only member-to-member transactions in tea are allowed.
The Tea Industry in Kenya
