Munya orders inquiry into Kenyan tea price plunge PATRICK ALUSHULA Agriculture Cabinet secretary Peter Munya is reading malice in the deteriorating value of the Kenyan tea at the weekly auction, disputing the official explanation of a glut in the market and low demand from overseas buyers. The Mombasa Tea Auction and the multinational firms say the current lower tea prices have been occasioned by a sharp decline in demand from buyers, resulting in a glut. However, Mr Munya said the sharp price decline was unusual. However, he did not specify who he suspects of interference, adding that the ministry is following up on the issue, especially with the Kenya Tea Development Agency that accounts for more than half of the total beverage at the auction. He argued that there is no glut from the world’s major producers. Tea prices last week touched a decade low in what is now worrying stakeholders in the sector. The value of the beverage has performed poorly in the past t
KTDA, multinationals get 2-month window to end direct tea sales
Thursday January 21 2021
By GERALD ANDAE
Summary
The Ministry of Agriculture has given multinational companies and the Kenya Tea Development Agency (KTDA) a two-month window to close direct sales of tea amid a court case that has temporarily stopped the implementation of the new Tea Act.
The ban on direct tea sale, brought about by the enactment of the Tea Act that requires all teas to be sold exclusively through the auction, will see the players miss out on lucrative overseas market.
The firms said they are at a loss over how to deal with forward contracts signed with overseas buyers should the court fail to stop Section 36 of the Act that has imposed the ban.