FairTrade Certified tea factories in the country have been challenged to invest in production of quality teas right from farm level to attract the extra sum paid on top of the selling price commonly known as Fairtrade Premium grants.
The additional sum, calculated as a percentage of the volume of tea sold, is given to farmers’ cooperatives to invest in projects of their choice to improve their social, economic and environmental conditions.
Fairtrade Africa Marketing Committee Member Vereist Wulter said changing market dynamics called for value addition and investment in specialty teas following decline in traditional CTC black teas that translates into lower sales volumes of the Fairtrade tea.
Speaking during an inspection tour of projects undertaken by Mungania Tea Factory in Embu through Fairtrade Premiums, Wulter said selling on Fairtrade terms equips farmers with the ability to have better incomes by eliminating unfair market competition.
He encouraged smallholder factories to secure the Fairtrade Mark for their produce to enable them to negotiate for better prices than the conventional market price that gives famers an incentive to farm better.
“We need to sell more Fairtrade certified tea to bring value to the producer and make the Fairtrade label more popular just as the case with for instance Coca-Cola,” he said.
The official said factories should also strive to increase the quality and make consumers aware that if they buy slightly more expensive tea, they are drinking something better.
This, he said, could be achieved by telling the story about where the tea is coming from as that is what millennials want to hear, that is, the story behind their cup of tea.
“It should happen similar to what is taking place in the coffee world where big companies are educating their consumers about where the coffee is coming from and the difference between various blends such as cappuccino and espresso,” he said.
He said such things make consumers pay a little more for their cup of coffee and that is what should be done in the tea world. “away from just a tea bag in a pot of hot water and milk.”
“We need to move away from just having a tea bag in a pot of hot water and milk and tell the story about the farmers, where it is grown and so on,” he said.
He additionally said there was a need to add more value at the place of origin to attract more market as the market for black CTC tea is saturated and prices are relatively low.
Chairman, Mungania Tea Factory Fairtrade Alfred Muriithi said they are gearing towards improving quality right from the farm level, value addition and packaging.
“We are currently producing ginger and masala flavored tea and exploring ways of introducing orthodox tea lines,” he said.
Factory Chairman David Mwenje said they have been able to carry out numerous projects across the catchment area in the areas of education, health and road infrastructure.
