Tea auction systems to be audited, says Munya
A tea picker sorts a pile of freshly picked tea leaves at Gatia-ini Tea Collection Center in Kigumo on September 12, 2020.
What you need to know:
- For long, the government has accused the auction of conniving with players to fix prices of tea.
- Last year, the Mombasa Auction was directed to shift from a manual system to an electronic one.
Agriculture Cabinet Secretary Peter Munya has directed the tea sector regulator to start auditing the Mombasa Auction to establish any inefficiencies that could be hindering farmers from earning the most from their produce.
The CS issued a two-week ultimatum to the Tea Board of Kenya (TBK) to appoint an auditor to review the system the East African Tea Trade Association (Eatta) runs with a view to finding out if the price discovery mechanism is achieved during the sale.
‘Open outcry’
For long, the government has accused the auction of conniving with players to fix prices of tea, a move that it argues has denied farmers good returns.
“To further enhance the price discovery mechanisms at the auction, there is a need to audit the Electronic Auction Trading Platform to ensure it is foolproof and not prone to inefficiencies and lack of accountability in price determination that characterised the ‘open outcry’ system,” said Mr Munya.
As part of the reforms to ensure price transparency, the Agriculture ministry last year directed the Mombasa Auction to shift from a manual system to an electronic one, regarded as foolproof.
