Kenya Tea Board ordered to audit private factories amid quality queries

Geoffrey Satia-KNA

PS Ronoh calls out private tea firms for compromising Kenyan tea quality

The Kenya Tea Board has been directed to audit all existing private tea factories to ensure attainment of minimum standards in the production and processing of tea.

The Principal Secretary State Department of Agriculture, Dr. Paul Ronoh praised the Kenya Tea Development Authority (KTDA) factories for ensuring the highest quality of Kenyan tea is achieved suitable for the local and international markets.

He questioned the quality of tea produced by certain private tea factories which he claimed has ruined the quality of Kenyan tea on the world market. “While KTDA factories comply with accepted tea production and processing standards, other private tea firms are violating the rules and this must stop,” Ronoh reiterated during a visit to KTDA Chebut and Kaptumo factories.

The PS further urged the Kenya Tea Board not to register new tea factories but rather audit the existing ones for quality production and ensure complaints raised by farmers are addressed without delay.

He said the competitiveness of Kenyan tea on the world market is majorly dependent on the quality of tea processed by certified tea factories.

Ronoh expressed confidence that KTDA factories are producing the best tea and urged the private tea firms to comply with government approved standards.

 He said Kenya Tea Board, a tea sector regulatory body, should use its powers to ensure farmers get value for their investments and strict adherence to tea farming and processing guidelines for quality tea.

 “I am happy to report that KTDA factories are established on agreed and regulated cost without exaggeration of figures,” he said.

 The PS further revealed that the government had settled on Sh2,500 as the cost of a 50-kilogramme bag of tea fertilizer asking farmers not to pay more than that. According to him, the government is keen on producing quality tea that is competitive on the world market, and it was the reason farmers are being given affordable fertilizer for tea production to meet international standards.

“Our tea factories should always keep their production standards high even as we ensure tea farmers, just like maize farmers, get affordable fertilizer to boost their production,” he said. At same time, Ronoh revealed that the government remains committed to ensure maize farmers continue to benefit from affordable fertilizer, adding that close to one million bags had been procured. The Agriculture PS spoke when he visited tea farmers and management of Chebut and Kaptumo Tea Factories in Emgwen and Aldai Constituencies respectively to assess the proposal of separating Kaptumo from mother Chebut Tea Company. He okayed the separation but called for the requisite legal process to be strictly adhered to.