Tea farmers in Kenya are suffering because of low prices for their crop this year. So they have exchanged their tea bushes for a healthy new “purple tea” that they hope will sell for a higher price. But there may not be a demand for the new kind of tea.
Agricultural workers in green tea fields near Mt. Kenya are gathering the tea leaves. It is beautiful to see. The rows of tea bushes are straight. All appears to be well. But the farmers who planted the bushes are worried. Nelson Kibara is one of them. He has been growing tea in the Kerugoya area for 40 years.
He says the market for the tea is unstable and he is often forced to sell his purple tea for the same price as green tea leaves. He says there are not enough buyers willing to pay more for the purple tea than black tea.
The Kenya Tea Development Agency represents small farmers. It says farmers have planted purple tea before a market has been created for it. Vincent Mwingirwa works at the agency.