Tea farmers in Kericho County have called for the immediate withdrawal of a newly introduced 0.8 per cent tea levy, saying the charge will deprive earnings further at a time when they are already grappling with poor returns and mounting production costs.
Speaking during the 104th Ushirika Day celebrations held at Kericho Primary School, the farmers led by County Governor Dr. Erick Mutai, urged the Tea Board of Kenya (TBK) to scrap the levy and instead channel its energy into pushing up tea prices and opening new markets rather than piling on fresh deductions.
Dr. Mutai questioned the justification for the charge, which was slapped on tea sold at the auction under the banner of funding research. “The levy was imposed at the tea auction in the name of funding research. We ask, what research is it when our farmers are already suffering,” he said.
The Tea Levy Regulations came into force on May 1, 2026, introducing a 0.8 per cent charge on tea exports calculated on either the auction or customs value, alongside a separate 100 per cent levy on imported bulk tea.
ALSO READ:
Governor Mutai positions cooperatives as drivers of value addition and MSME growth
Dr. Mutai turned also pressed KTDA to widen Kenya’s export markets beyond its traditional buyers in the Middle East, warning that ongoing conflicts in parts of that region have repeatedly disrupted tea exports and hurt farmer earnings.
He further called for an end to the numerous meetings and conferences that have been convened over the years to deliberate on challenges facing the tea sector, arguing that the time for talk had passed. “There have been endless meetings and conferences to discuss tea issues. Those discussions must now come to an end. We need to see results that improve the livelihoods of our farmers,” Dr. Mutai said.
However, TBK has stood by the levy, arguing it is meant to restore funding that was lost when a previous tea levy was scrapped in 2016. TBK maintains that the charge is payable by exporters rather than farmers, and that proceeds from the levy will be ring-fenced to support farmer incomes, research, regulation and infrastructure development across tea-growing counties.
By Masaki Enock
Get more stories from our website: Sacco Review.
For comments and clarifications, write to: Saccoreview@
Kindly follow us via our social media pages on Facebook: Sacco Review Newspaper for timely updates
Stay ahead of the pack! Grab the latest Sacco Review newspaper!
