This archive report was first published on 7 July 2021.
On July 8, 2021, Agriculture Cabinet Secretary Peter Munya expressed concern over the sharp decline in Kenyan tea prices, disputing the official explanation of a glut in the market and low demand from overseas buyers.
According to Munya, the current lower tea prices have been occasioned by a sharp decline in demand from buyers, resulting in a glut, but he said the sharp price decline was unusual.
He argued that there is no glut from the world's major producers and 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.
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 two months.
“Consumption of tea has gone down, and this low demand has resulted in poor prices that we are now witnessing at the market,” said Edward Mudibo, managing director of the East African Tea Traders Association (EATTA).
Apollo Kiarii, chief executive of the Kenya Tea Growers Association, an umbrella body for multinationals, echoed his sentiments, attributing the low demand to the closure of restaurants in Europe in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic.
