NAIROBI, May 21 (Xinhua) -- Kenya's agriculture ministry on Thursday introduced new regulations to help improve tea productivity, efficiency in the value chain and create transparency in the sector.
Peter Munya, Cabinet Secretary for Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock, Fisheries and Cooperatives, said the new regulations now require all tea factories to register and enlist with the government and the auction organizer to participate in the tea auction directly.
Munya said the regulations also require registered tea brokers to offer tea brokerage services to a maximum of 15 tea factories.
He however noted that brokers that are already registered and in operation shall continue to offer their services until their annual registration expires.
"These regulations have particularly sought to rebalance power and influence wielded by various value chain players, reduce unnecessary cost burdens imposed on vulnerable tea farmers," Munya told journalists in Nairobi.
He said the new regulations will help improve the competitiveness of Kenya's tea export in the international market as well as generating more export earnings to the country.
Munya said the new regulations will empower farmers to trade directly by outlawing non-tea growers from trading.
Tea is Kenya's second leading foreign exchange earner after horticulture. Tea exports hit 113.6 billion shillings (about 1.1 billion U.S. dollars) in 2019, according to an annual economic survey made by the government. Enditem
