Mombasa traded its maiden batch of specialty orthodox tea on Wednesday in a strategy aimed at stemming plummeting fortunes from dealing in traditional black varieties.
During the sale, a kilogramme of orthodox tea fetched a top price of Sh622.93 ($4.82), raising hope for traders long disillusioned by lower returns from the traditional produce.
Orthodox tea is made or processed using a traditional method, which includes plucking, withering, rolling, oxidation, and drying.
Orthodox beverages that include white and purple teas are expensive because of the limited volumes produced in the country against high demand globally.
Specialty tea earns premium returns for farmers amid growing demand for its health benefits.
Unlike black tea, the purple variety is not fermented in processing and contains anthocyanin and other substances, which some experts say have health benefits, such as helping with weight loss.
Kenya is the only country in the world that produces purple tea, but is yet to tap its full potential, even with a ready market.
Agriculture Cabinet Secretary Mutahi Kagwe, who officiated at the maiden orthodox tea auction, said the government is investing in reforms to diversify into niche specialty products segments, which are growing at about six percent annually and presently dominated by Sri Lanka, India, and China.
"Today, Mombasa becomes the first country in Africa to sell orthodox tea, and we cannot ignore the reality that the global tea market has changed. CTC teas, our traditional mainstay, now face flat demand and depressed prices at the Mombasa Auction, and our more than 650,000 tea farmers cannot earn to their expectations if we continue to sell our teas in sacks,” he said.
China still dominates white tea production, but Kenya and other growers are increasing cultivation.
The Kenya Tea Development Agency (KTDA) two years ago revealed that it was seeking Sh800 million from the government to expand its production line for high-value specialty tea following a surge in global demand.
At the launch of the orthodox tea auction at the East African Tea Trade Association (EATTA) offices in Mombasa, 13 of the 22 registered orthodox tea makers participated in the auction, and more than 2,925 packages, equivalent to 91,798 kilogrammes of orthodox tea, were presented for sale.
Mr Kagwe said that so far, 22 orthodox tea manufacturers have been licensed, a number expected to nearly double to 42 by 2027, with tea prices projected to increase to about $10 (Sh1,292.4) per kilogramme, delivering better earnings for farmers and raising Kenya’s profile in global specialty markets.
“Of the total 106 tea factories in the country, comprising 67 factories serving the smallholder sub-sector under the Kenya Tea Development Agency (KTDA) and 39 factories in the large-scale estate sub-sector, the Tea Board of Kenya (TBK) has licensed more than 15 factories to process orthodox teas, with a government-supported rollout of 13 new orthodox manufacturing lines. The government targets to grow installed orthodox tea capacity from 15 million kilogrammes in 2024 to 200 million kilos by 2030,” said Mr Kagwe.
Last year, Kenya sold a total of 7.51 million kilogrammes of orthodox tea through middlemen, of which five million kilogrammes were exported. This was lower than the 12.34 million kilogrammes produced in 2023, largely due to challenges with the Iranian market.
EATTA Managing Director George Omuga said the orthodox tea auction in Mombasa will attract more buyers, considering the quality of Kenyan tea, since it is high-altitude grown, naturally chemical-free, and rich in aroma, giving it a strong competitive edge in organic and specialty markets.
“By launching Orthodox teas at the auction today, we confirm to the world that Kenya is no longer just a CTC powerhouse, we are now a serious and competitive player in the global Orthodox market,” said Mr Omuga.
The tea auction in Mombasa has been hit by a sustained pile-up of unsold tea over the last two years amid subdued demand for the black tea sold there. Kenya is the world’s leading exporter of black tea, but oversupply and variable weather conditions often lead to global price fluctuations, encouraging diversification into niche varieties such as purple and white tea.
The TBK plans to build an incubation centre in Kericho for specialty and value-added tea as part of an initiative to boost farmers’ earnings from the beverage.
The TBK incubation project is being undertaken in collaboration with the Tea Research Institute in Kericho, where the centre will be set up for the development of value-added specialty tea products and training stakeholders.
