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Message: [QUOTE="Nehanda, post: 27397, member: 2262"] Agriculture boss Mutahi Kagwe plans to team up with trade officials to remove barriers blocking tea sales abroad. He announced that the Kenya Tea Development Agency works alongside his department to break into fresh markets, including India, Bulgaria, Georgia, America, Iraq, Turkey, Brazil, Russia, Iran, and Sudan. KTDA leaders Chege Kirundi and Wilson Muthaura updated Kagwe Friday about their success selling almost all the stockpiled tea sitting at Mombasa. After the president ordered them to deal with 106 million kilos of unsold tea at auction, the board sold 97% of it. Today, just 3.7 million kilos remain. Kagwe praised KTDA for making changes that improve efficiency, fight climate change effects, expand investments, and sell tea under the "Produce of Kenya" brand. These steps will boost money coming in, strengthen Kenya's tea reputation, and create market segments, letting farmers earn bigger bonuses. He urged KTDA always to consider farmers first. Kagwe suggested partnerships with lenders such as the Agricultural Finance Corporation and local fertilizer makers to help farmers access cheaper loans and farming supplies. Earlier this year, in February, Kenya's government and KTDA introduced several new measures aimed at raising tea prices and addressing unsold inventory problems. Factory directors from West Rift joined representatives from the Tea Board of Kenya, East African Tea Trade Association, tea buyers, and KTDA managers at a meeting held in Kisumu. They focused heavily on solving the unsold tea situation. Reports showed about 100 million kilos sat unsold in KTDA warehouses around Mombasa as of July last year. The government canceled minimum price requirements in August, hoping this would attract new buyers and reduce stockpiles that had remained unwanted since the previous year. This move opened the door for more flexible pricing at tea auctions across Kenya. [/QUOTE]

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