Kenyan tea growers decry high labour costs in the sector

Tea farmers in Kenya have raised concern over the rising costs of labour that could derail the sector’s performance.

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According to the country’s tea growers association, labour costs contribute half of production costs and further increases will prove detrimental.

“Labour costs already represent 50-60 percent of the cost of production for KTGA members and so this award will increase the cost of production by around nine percent at a time the price of tea is 30 percent below its peak,” said the Kenya Tea Growers Association in a statement published in the Daily Nation.

Tea is Kenya’s top foreign exchange earner and the east African country is the world’s biggest exporter of black tea.

Last year, Kenya produced about 399 million kilograms and earned about $1.2 billion from export of the commodity.

In May, Kenya undertook a process to review some of the levies and taxes charged on its tea producers and traders in order to make the sector more competitive.