The prices of tea have gone down by 20 per cent and farmers' earnings are expected to drop by the same margin.
Acting Kenya Tea Development Agency regional manager Antony Mureithi said the cost of labour in factories has gone up after the agency signed a CBA with the workers' union.
The workers got a nine per cent salary increase this year and another nine per cent next year effective January 1.
Mureithi said farm sizes continue to decrease as farmers subdivide them among family members, with 75 per cent of farmers owning less than an acre.
“Then we have other challenges including changing consumer taste. This is a challenge because the black tea we know is a traditional product,” he said.
He said tea hawking is due weak legislation which does not protect farmers.
Nyeri Governor Mutahi Kahiga advised factories to consider exporting their tea directly to bypass brokers and earn better income.
