Kenya and China are exploring bilateral cooperation to achieve five million kilos of tea traded between the two countries annually.
This emerged during Agriculture Cabinet Secretary Mithika Linturi’s tour of China, where he attended the launch of the China-Kenya Tea Trade Centre and the signing ceremony of partnership between Kenyan orthodox and specialty tea manufacturers and Benny Tea/Fujian Starchina Tea Company in Shanghai.
CS Linturi said his ministry is determined to work with all tea industry stakeholders globally to transform Kenya’s tea industry and make it more profitable and sustainable for the benefit of all tea exporters and smallholder farmers. They will also work on promoting Kenyan tea value addition and branding, reiterating President William Ruto’s position.
“The partnership provides an opportunity to radically transform the livelihoods of Kenyan smallholder tea farmer since Benny Tea will support KTDA and independent tea producer factories with equipment and technology transfer,” the CS said.
He added that together with the Tea Board of Kenya, the Ministry of Agriculture will work with Benny Tea to ensure Kenyan tea sold through the cooperation and value added at the center will bear the Produce of Kenya mark.
Speaking at State House Nairobi when he met Kenya Tea Development Agency factory chairmen and directors on May 14, President Ruto expressed dissatisfaction that Kenya continues to sell unprocessed tea and denying farmers the best prices in the market.
“We are the largest tea producer in the world, yet we don’t have a Kenyan tea brand and, therefore, our product gets lower prices than countries that produce less than we do,” Ruto said.
According to the Kenya Embassy in China, which has been engaging importers and stakeholders, the foreign direct investment in Kenya will spur growth in the branding of Kenya Tea reforms, and spearhead ongoing sector reforms on alleviating the brand of locally produced tea.
During his visit, Linturi held discussions with Chinese company officials on the opportunities available for Kenyan coffee and tea producers/ exporters to brand and package the produce for international markets.
“We must brand Kenya tea for greater global visibility and support tea value addition through Special Economic Zones. Our goal is for at least 50 per cent of our tea exports to be processed and branded within three to five years,” Linturi said.
