Next month, the second and final payments will be made to more than 600,000 small-scale tea producers connected to the Kenya Tea Development Agency (KTDA).
The smallholder farmers will receive the reward known as the “tea bonus,” according to chief executive Wilson Muthaura, in the second week of October.
“The process of getting money to farmers will shortly begin. Despite the difficulties they have had in the last year, we anticipate that farmers will make remarkable profits and be able to meet their financial responsibilities, he said Tuesday in a telephone interview with Business Hub.
According to Muthaura, the revenues were paid in accordance with the Tea Act 2020’s guidelines, which indicate that bonuses must be given out three months after the conclusion of each fiscal year.
Early next week, directors from the 71 KTDA-managed factories will convene to evaluate and approve the annual reports for the fiscal year 2022–2023. According to Julius Onguso, MD of KTDA Management Services, “the meetings to decide the second payment will take place from September 11 to 22 and be followed by a formal declaration of the second payment rates confirmed.”
The meetings take place as preliminary data indicates a slight decline in green leaf production and sale prices at the Mombasa tea auction.
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For instance, the average price for all KTDA-managed factories was $2.69 (Sh392.74) for the fiscal year 2022–2023 as opposed to $2.76 (Sh402.96) a year earlier, reflecting a minor decline of 3% in tea prices at the auction.
Despite a considerable reduction in the reserve price at the auctions over the previous time, the recorded prices this year are still more than the $2.43 (Sh354.78) reserve price set in mid-2021.
According to the agency, due to the devastating drought that hit the nation, the amount of green leaf sent to KTDA-managed companies in the year ending June 2023 fell by 8.5% to 1.146 billion kilograms. 1.253 billion kilos of tea were produced and delivered by tea farmers in the years 2021/22.
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