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By Ravi Ladduwahetty

The global tea trade should cooperate so that the core issues should be addressed mutually, visiting Chairman of the Kenyan Tea Board Nicholas Nganga told the Daily News in an interview yesterday.

This is the only area that we see as feasible though the possibilities of the global trade integrating is an impossibility, he said.

This follows the visit of a four-member delegation of the Kenyan Tea Board visiting Sri Lanka at the invitation of the Sri Lanka Tea Board so that areas of mutual cooperation could be studied.

The delegation led by Chairman Nicholas Nganga, comprised Director General Stephen Nkanata and Board Members Titus Kipyar, R. Waganagwa, Marketing Promotions Manager David Gacholi and the Chairman of the East African Tea Traders' Association Nicholas Munyl.

Nganga said that Kenya was also willing to reconsider a proposal that was put forward among two other global players in the world tea market- India and Sri Lanka, relating to forming a producer lobby for fostering mutual cooperation in marketing.

This follows Kenya's refusal in accepting the proposal at the time it was mooted a few years ago as it believed that it could go on its own, but times and circumstances have changed.

It is important that we look until we realise what went wrong where and make amends for our mistakes, he said.

He said that Sri Lanka's success in the tea industry was in its marketing.

He said:" Though the Kenyan industry has outweighed the world in its production, it is yet lagging behind due to the absence of a good marketing system and added that making inroads into the market will create new vistas.

Earlier, addressing a presentation for Sri Lanka's tea industry at the Sri Lanka Tea Board auditorium which had nominees from growers, exporters and brokers, he said:" it is important for the global industry that the global tea industry should be expanded and inroads be made so that everybody could have a larger stake of the market. He also stressed the need for the industry to convince that tea was a better beverage for the world than any other and said that the industry required repackaging to boost its sales and image."

He said that the industry also needed an introspective analysis as to what went wrong in the pricing structure.

He attributed the liberalisation and the deregulation of the economy of the country's economy as the sole attribute of the dollar auction.

Responding to a question on the success of the Dollar auction in Kenya, he said that it helped in the stability of prices and improved the volumes of the auction, but conceded that the small buyers were stifled due to the non-availability of dollars.

Asked what type of funds go into research and promotions, he said that as much as 60 percent of the earnings go into research, while 20 percent goes into promotions and the other 20 percent goes into administration overheads.

Asked of the possibilities of Kenyan teas being imported into Sri lanka for value addition and re-export, he said that there was no need as neither party was accruing any special advantages. 

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