Review burden of tax in tea sector

Tea farmers have been uneasy in the past one year due to low returns from the crop. Rising costs, crisis in Kenya’s key markets in the Middle East, such as Egypt, Iraq and Syria, and embargoed trade with Iran and Sudan have been mentioned as possible causes of the thinning market.

This has now left the country holding more tea baskets than it can dispose, with the effects being felt in every part of the production chain. There has been a steady increase in tea production globally, with supply outpacing consumption, leading to the current slump in prices and a sharp drop in earnings by farmers.