Cabinet has directed the Agriculture ministry to draft a national tea policy by May 2024 as prices across the country drastically fall with many farmers in the Kigezi region now uprooting their tea plants.
This is part of efforts to address tea quality gaps which are plummeting Uganda’s processed tea price on the international market.
On the domestic market last year, the price of a kilogram of green tea leaves dropped from Shs500 to Shs200.
The Minister for ICT and National Guidance Dr Chris Baryomunsi also revealed that they are introducing a fertiliser revolving fund that will be capitalized by government, along with tax waivers to struggling factories across the country.
“We realized that the tea factories face a number of challenges and therefore Cabinet has taken a decision to designate the tea processing factories as export processing zones and that in accordance with the Free Zones Act, there are many benefits which will come with that decision,” Dr Baryomunsi said.
Last month, a section of tea growers and processors from Kabarole District petitioned parliament over the low prices.
The Speaker of Parliament, Ms Anita Among urged them not to cut down their tea plants as government works to mitigate the challenge.
