By Muhoozi Nelson Mandela
Uganda’s tea industry is in turmoil, with farmers facing rock-bottom prices and accusations flying between different players in the sector.
This week, Ugandan tea averaged a meagre $0.79 per kilogram, a far cry from the $2.22 and $2.46 fetched by teas from neighbouring Kenya and Rwanda respectively.
While attributing some of the blame to a depressed global market, Ugandan tea farmers and industry leaders are pointing a finger inward.
Onesimus Matsiko, the chairperson of the Uganda Tea Out growers Association, lamented, “Uganda teas will continue to go for nothing until we either wake up or continue on our natural path of abandonment and uprooting.”
Matsiko blamed a combination of factors for the crisis. He criticized the government for a lack of strategic direction and policy support.
Additionally, he highlighted a breakdown in communication and collaboration between farmers, factories, and pluckers.
Farmers, according to Matsiko, have become beholden to pluckers who prioritize quantity over quality, leading to a decline in Ugandan tea’s reputation.
“This decline is evident in the farmgate price, the price farmers receive for their tea leaves. In Uganda’s Tooro sub-region, prices have plummeted to between sh120 and sh150 ($0.03-$0.04) per kilogram, forcing some farmers to abandon their crops altogether,” Matsiko said.
Others, he said, are switching to maize cultivation, while a few are attempting to salvage the situation by partnering with factories offering slightly better prices for higher-quality leaves.
Matsiko expressed deep scepticism about government intervention, stating, “I have very strong doubt about government intervention and interest for a tea farmer!”
He pinned his remaining hope on private solutions, urging farmers to explore specialty tea opportunities and embrace partnerships with factories offering practical support.
William Mbonigaba, another tea farmer, echoed Matsiko’s concerns, emphasizing the lack of strategic direction and a policy vacuum.
He highlighted the absence of quality-based pricing and the dominance of pluckers who prioritize quick cash over sustainable practices.
Mbonigaba called for a clear path forward, questioning whether government support should focus on providing seedlings and fertilizer or on strengthening farmer organization and training.
The Director of Swazi Highland Tea Co Ltd, Victoria B. Ashabahebwa, said Uganda needs to work on tea quality in order to be able to attract buyers.
“With improved quality, we stand a better chance to achieve the objective of the tea auction we are talking about.”
Tanzania is also hit by tea industry struggles
Uganda is not alone in the tea industry struggles, as Tanzania this week also fetched some of the lowest prices for its teas at $0.61.
Despite Kenya’s high-quality KTDA teas, 70% remained unsold, in contrast to Uganda, where only 18% of the tea remained unsold.
According to Gregory Mugabe, the UTA chairperson, 10 percent of Uganda’s tea is usually not sold at first asking. Even at the second asking, he said only half of what was left is sold.
He said annually, about 5 percent (3.5m kilos) of the 70m kilograms of tea exported is sold outside the auction.
According to him, the buyers of this tea usually take it at a discount since Ugandan traders can’t transport it back to Kampala.
On the whole, over 33 percent of teas offered at the weekly Mombasa tea auction remain unsold, with Uganda contributing only 10-15 percent of teas to the auction.
Matsiko said the global tea value chain is clearly an aged industry and does not make sense for expansion.
He added, “My assertion is a strategic exit from seedlings intervention. What is happening naturally is shrinkage with changes in land use by some people. For the remaining tea, strategies in favour of improved quality and productivity along with product and market diversification is the way to go.”
As regulation looks impossible, he said private sector-based approaches are also the way to go, otherwise the shrinkage will squeeze harder.
