Kenya is set to launch value-added tea exports to Australia in a bid to protect its unique identity and improve farmers’ income.
A dispatch from State House after a Cabinet meeting on Tuesday said it was promoting agro-processing through the value addition of exported agricultural produce, and Australia has emerged as one of the destinations that the country is targeting with ready tea.
“The cabinet noted that as part of Kenya’s export promotion strategy, the Ministry of Agriculture will in the coming week flag off the first-ever full shipload of value-added tea destined for Australia,” said the Cabinet in a statement.
This comes at a time when the commodity is performing dismally in the market with the beverage fetching $2.25 (Sh280.10) per kilo during the first sale of 2023.
The price of the beverage remained low over the last half of 2022 raising concerns among the stakeholders as farmers are likely to see a decline in their earnings in the current financial year.
In 2021, the government introduced a minimum price of $2.43(Sh302.51) for a kilo of tea to save farmers from low earnings after the value of the beverage fell below the cost of production.
