Agriculture CS Mithika Linturi has said the government is working to ensure that Kenya's tea is exported with added value.
Speaking in Karachi, Pakistan during the Pakistan Tea Association annual gala event, Linturi said this will increase the farmers' and exporters' earnings.
"Kenya is rated among the highest producers of quality tea worldwide with 77 market destinations worldwide, but our export earnings are not higher that other countries like Sri Lanka and China who export their tea with added value," he said.
Among the efforts taken to increase export with added value, the CS said, include the establishment of a Special Economic Zones (SEZ) in Mombasa to replace the current Export Promotion Zones (EPZ).
"To circumvent these challenge, the SEZs may be a better scheme than the EPZs owing to numerous administrative, monetary and tax incentives," he said.
Establishment of SEZs is a key flagship project under the Kenya Vision 2030 economic pillar.
Linturi further promised to develop tea subsector by providing fertiliser subsidy to cushion farmers against increasing cost of production.
He said the government also plans to introduce other incentives to further enhance the competitiveness of the Kenyan tea globally.
Linturi lauded Pakistan for being Kenya's leading tea export market.
"Pakistan imports 52 per cent of Kenyan tea making it our largest trade partner in the tea sector but we are still facing challenges in the trade due to lack of value addition to our tea."
Speaking during the event, Governor of Sindh region Kamran Tessori praised the quality of the Kenyan tea.
"Tea is an essential commodity in Pakistan and we largely prefer the Kenyan tea due to it's quality. We should, however, improve our trade relations for the benefit of both importers and exporters," he said.
Tea industry is among the leading foreign exchange earners for Kenya, accounting for 26 per cent of the foreign exchange earnings and two per cent of the National Gross Domestic Product.
Linturi was accompanied by Ambassador Nyambura Kamau, KTDA chairman David Ichoho and KTDA CEO Wilson Muthaura among others.
