The Mountain Journal
The KTDA has warned tea farmers of a crisis looming in the sector over the escalating fuel prices following the tension in the Middle East.
As the tension escalate tea estimated above Ksh3 billion was lying in the warehouses due to the transshipment crisis caused by the Middle East war.,
The farmers were adviced to be aware of the reduction in bonuses set to be paid at the end of the year with the closure of the crop year 2025/2026 on June 30.
KTDA Chairman Enos Njeru said that the war in the middle east was a threat to the lucrative sector that supports over 800,000 tea farmers and millions indirectly.
Photo/ KTDA Chairman Mr Enos Njeru.
Mr Njeru said that shipping out tea mainly to the main market in Pakistan was a major challenge after major shipping companies pulled out due to the crisis.
“Currently we are holding tea worth over Sh 3 billion in the warehouses due to lack of shipping transport, and we fear things could get worse in the coming days,” he warned, when he addressed factory Chairpersons in Naivasha.
Njeru observed that shipping lines had introduced new surcharges targeting importers as one way of protecting their ships.
“The current situation had been worsened by the move by the government to raise fuel prices, would hurt the cost of production and transport,” he said accompanied by his Vice-Chairman Eng Simon Musonik
