A disparity has surfaced between the leaders of the Kenya Tea Development Agency (KTDA) over the prices of tea in some regions of the country.
Speaking during the Mombasa tea auction, directors of KTDA factories from west of the Rift accused KTDA managing agents of poorly pricing tea from the region putting a toll on the farmers.
The regions include Kisii, Nyamira, Kericho, Bomet, and Nandi counties.
The directors have raised concerns about the management of tea factories and the sale of processed tea below the government's set reserve price.
According to the directors from the West Rift, KTDA poorly prices the tea despite the region improving the tea quality.
The directors want the managing agents to ensure that up to 80 per cent of tea is sold at prices above the production cost.
"We have heard complaints from Mombasa and Nairobi saying that the West is not producing the best quality. But this time round we are producing better tea, and we are asking the government to look into the issue of having scientific testing so that we can prove that we have the best tea and deserve better tea prices," Omwena Mbasa, board member of KTDA, argued.
They have emphasised the need for the government to come up with scientific ways to gauge tea quality and prevent those with quality tea from poor prices, and ensure that it is sold at competitive prices.
The directors argue that the initiative is crucial for the sustainability of the tea industry and the livelihoods of small-scale tea farmers in the region.
Their concerns come after Tea Board of Kenya (TBK) Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Willy Mutai revealed that tea offered for sale by the smallholder tea factories managed by KTDA, whose quality is relatively higher, fetched an average price of Ksh366 per kg for the main grades compared to Ksh360 recorded during the same period in 2023.
Mutai explained that “Lower Medium” and “Plainer” teas and secondary grades attracted either less interest and thus discounted prices or no offers and consequently constituted the highest proportion of teas on offer at the auction that were withdrawn.
“Depending on the quality band, the leaf grades generally attracted relatively higher prices than the dust and secondary grades, respectively,” Mutai said in January 2025.
