The Mountain Journal Flooding of unsold tea in the warehouses in Mombasa has been blamed on poor quality teas sourced from west of Rift.
The players in the sector call on the Tea Board of Kenya to regulate the private factories that have dominated the western region.
In the Mt Kenya region, the KTDA directors led by Nahason Ngari say the mess behind the unsold tea can be contained if the TBK moved to regulate the private factories and emphasize producing quality green leaf.
Ngari said the government intervention will be critical to clear the unsold tea by injecting resources to facilitate the sale and ensure the farmers do not incur losses.
The Mountain Journal has learnt that the private factories also buy 40 percent of the teas processed by the factories from the Mountain region to blend their product.
“ TBK has the powers to regulate the private sector but has not done much as the issue of the quality management is the issue that should be addressed,” said Ngari a director at Mununga tea factory in Kirinyaga county.
A week ago, tea dealers in their meeting blamed the glut of the product on the reserved price and management of green leaf quality.
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