Kenya is keen to expand its tea export market with a keen eye on Europe, after a drop in shipments last year.
Kenya Tea Development Agency (KTDA) is leading the country in marketing brands at the International Tea Trade Workshop in London.
The agency is banking on the forum, which attracts leading tea retailers, traders and packers from across the UK and Europe, to tap new buyers and strengthen relationships with existing markets.
UK is the third largest market for KTDA, according to chairman David Ichoho.
The agency is meeting renowned brands Marks and Spencer, Taylors of Harrogate, Ringtons, Thomson Lloyd TLE and Global Tea who market Kericho Gold, in an effort to strengthen marketing campaigns for Kenyan produces.
“Our main markets are in Egypt and Pakistan but the UK is our most stable and reliable market," Ichoho said, during a courtesy call to the Kenya’s High Commissioner to the UK, Ambassador Manoah Esipisu.
KTDA is owned by 650,000 small scale Kenyan farmers and it exports over 300million kilos of tea annually, predominantly black CTC tea.
"We are now exporting more and more speciality teas like purple, white, green and orthodox teas which fetch a higher premium in the global market," Ichoho added, “This new tea lines are part of our vision to diversify our product offering to the globe."
Last year, the quantities of exported tea declined to 5.5 million metric tonnes from 5.7 million tonnes in 2020, the Economic Survey by the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics indicates, on account of reduced tea production.
It accounted for 19.6 per cent of export volumes and was valued at Sh130.9 billion.
Pakistan remains the biggest export destination for Kenya, taking up 38 per cent of the total weekly sales.
It is followed by Egypt (18%), the UK(9%), UAE, Russia and Sudan each five percent, Yemen (3%) while Afghanistan and Poland each take up two per cent share of the exports.
Iran is at the lower end with one per cent with the rest of the world taking up the remaining.
