Kenya's Agriculture Minister Kipruto Kirwa said last week that the government would create a special body, which would take charge in promoting the nation's tea exports. According to him, the taskforce would also be responsible in maintaining Kenya's relationship with its current tea buyers, and in looking for potential importers and markets in other regions. Mr. Kirwa said that through the special committee, his office would entertain ideas and suggestions on how to improve Kenya's position in key tea markets and to seek new importers. The agriculture minister made these comments during a tea contest, which was organized by the Tea Board of Kenya.

It must be noted that that Kenya's tourism industry has emerged as the country's biggest earner compared to the other sectors. The nation's success in tourism has been attributed to an intensive marketing campaign that was initiated by the Kenya Tourism Board. Now, the nation's tea sector also wants to achieve the same success by forming a special group, which would be responsible not only in improving the nation's tea business, but also in looking for potential markets and importers.

At present, the cost of tea in the global markets are falling as a result of an surplus totaling to 100 million kg. Dunstan Ngumo, the current chief of the Tea Board, said that the oversupply of tea in the international markets has resulted to losses among many tea producers and exporters. According to him, both farmers and keyplayers in the business should find effective measures to cut the cost of production. In that way, they would be able to cope with the drop of tea costs in the markets worldwide. Currently, the production of one kilogram of tea costs around $1.2. But the falling prices of tea is not the only issue faced by Kenya, which is among the biggest producers and exporters in the market. Mr. Ngumo said that another challenge that confronted the tea sector was maintaining existing markets and seeking new importers and buyers.

Mr. Ngumo advised businesses in Kenya to diversify their tea products in order to gain the interest of new importers. He added that they should also allot a certain fund in promoting their products. For years, the UK, Egypt, Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Sudan have been the traditional importers of Kenyan tea. Their combined purchases account for 70% of Kenya's tea exports. The government though is seeking to expand to other potential markets in order to cope with the current changes in the global tea market.