A delegate from Kenya tastes tea on Friday. Picture by Eastern Projections

Nov 23: A lot can happen over a cup of tea.

The Kenyan tea industry has expressed its willingness to work together with the Indian tea industry and share its experiences for a better future.

“We also have problems like lower price realisations and a decline in production. It is better that we share our experiences and work in tandem,” said Dunstan M. Ngumo, chairman of the Tea Board of Kenya, in his interaction with journalists on the sidelines of the India International Tea Convention.

Replying to a query on the view that Kenya is a threat to India, as far as tea production is concerned, he said, “It is not a threat. We are complementary to each other,” adding that India is a global leader in tea.

Kenya’s annual production of tea is 310 million kg.

He said Kenya exports around 95 per cent of tea, with quality being the buzzword.

“We are trying to increase tea consumption from 5 per cent to 15 per cent,” he added.

He said quality would continue to be their main mantra, which is helping Kenya to become one of the global leaders in producing quality tea. “In today’s world, one cannot afford to go solo. All the tea producing countries will have to have a joint approach towards tea pricing and an international tea producers’ forum is working on this,” he said.

A constitution and rules of procedure has already been formed and the next meeting of the forum will be held in China.

“We have given our comments at the meeting in Guwahati, which will be taken up at the meeting in China,” he added.

He said a unique character of Kenyan tea industry is that it is dominated by the small-scale sector.

“We follow good manufacturing and agricultural practices, which are helpful to the Kenyan tea sector,” he added.