Kericho to invest sh 300 million in new tea factory Kericho county is looking to set up tea factory on its 450-acre Kabianga tea farm at an estimated Sh300 million, governor Paul Chepkwony has disclosed. He said the county is conducting feasibility studies, and that a processing factory is necessary for the farm to yield maximum profit by exporting value-added tea to international markets. Presently, the tea is processed at the nearby Momul Factory owned by the Kenya Tea Development Agency. The plans come at a time the Ministry of Agriculture is formulating a national tea policy to address concerns and challenges in the industry. Principal secretary Sicily Kariuki on Saturday said the policy will seek solutions to sustain production of high quality tea and reduce the cost of production, processing and marketing. The policy will also look into tea trade and value addition. Kariuki did not state when the policy would be ready for implementation. She said the tea sector, a top foreign exchange earner for the country, is faced with challenges that include declining prices, high production cost, climate change, narrow market outlets and limited diversification and value addition. It is against this background that the ministry is spearheading a national tea policy formulation in collaboration with industry stakeholders and county governments, she said. The event, she said, is intended to boost domestic tea consumption from the current five per cent of the countrys total production. Kenya earned Sh114.5 billion from tea exports, more than five-fold the Sh22 billion recorded from domestic sales in 2013. The fifth edition of the Tea Board of Kenyas Tea for Health International Marathon was held in Kericho on Saturday. #Sonu T
Posted on: Mon, 12 May 2014 18:13:16 +0000