Purple tea processor seeks investors

A tea farmer who was licensed by the national tea directorate to process and export purple tea now seeks for investors to pump in Sh100 million in construction of a processing factory.

Robert Murimi from Ragati in Nyeri County was licensed by the Tea Directorate under Agriculture and Food Authority in August to manufacture, pack and export purple tea products after six years of pursuing the three licenses.

However, Murimi said a USA-based organisation has expressed interest to loan him out if his Horera Forest Edge Tea Company met the requirements.

“They are keen on licenses and my tax compliance status. I have provided them with the documents they require. I am hopeful to get a loan,” said Murimi adding that he was also pursuing additional investors. He could however not reveal the name of the organisation due to non-disclosure agreement between them.

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Construction of a world-class factory, he said, would cost him Sh69.5 million, Sh10 million to purchase the required machines while Sh10 million would be the starting capital and Sh10 million be channeled to the transportation of tea from farms to the factory.

“I intend to build a world-class processing factory because our export should meet the international standards,” he said.

He had already identified a location and the building to set up processing machines for a start within his farm.

The farmer who has planted 20, 000 bushes of purple tea said he intends to build the factory in Ragati noting that, “I have farmers waiting and all that is remaining is construction and operationalisation of the factory.”

Acquiring the licenses, he said was a big win to all specialty tea farmers across the central region who have been selling their teas at the same price as the black tea variety despite its (purple tea) benefits and high global demand that sets its price higher compared to the common variety.

Murimi who is the Nyeri Purple Tea Farmers Association chairman said he has mobilised farmers from the central region who will be supplying purple tea to the factory.

“It is about time we reap the deserved benefits of purple tea. My licenses allow me to process up to a million kilograms of purple tea and already there are 86 farmers registered under my company. We are not many in numbers but we must pave the way for others who lost hope in purple tea farming,” he added.

There are few factories for exclusive processing of purple and specialty tea in the tea-growing areas and Murimi expects to add to the existing factories in the Mount Kenya region.

Purple tea was introduced in Kenya in 2008 by the Kenya Tea Development Authority and it has already gained huge grip worldwide due to its perceived health benefits.