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Ugandan tea farmers are getting a taste of success thanks to East African Community (EAC) tea traders sharing their expertise. 

This isn't your average advice; the experts’ tips promise richer flavour, happier customers, and potentially more profit for Ugandan growers. So, what's the secret sauce? 

David Mutangana, a seasoned tea trader from Rwanda, during his recent visit brought with him a treasure trove of insights, as he shared tips on maintaining and elevating tea quality.

Mutangana's first nugget of advice emphasized the importance of education, particularly in good husbandry practices for nurturing tea bushes.

Stressing the significance of plucking within the optimal 14-day cycle, he highlighted the need for farmers to adhere to quality parameters for green leaf standards. His mantra of "2 leaves and a bud" resonated as a fundamental principle in maintaining fine plucking standards.

But why does fine plucking matter so much? Mutangana unravelled the mystery, explaining how it directly correlates with the desired characteristics of a perfect cup of tea: wholeness, full aroma, briskness, and flavour. 

"These characters are responsible for good cup quality," he said, shedding light on the intricate dance between cultivation practices and sensory delight.

Delving deeper, Mutangana shared the economic benefits tied to fine plucking. Not only does it enhance cup quality, but it also boosts yield efficiency due to shorter plucking rounds. In stark contrast, coarse plucking was cautioned against for its detrimental impact on quality, leading to open leaves, reduced density and increased machine workload— ultimately inflating costs.

Drawing parallels to Rwanda's tea landscape, Mutangana painted a picture of a unique terroir. Nestled in high elevations with fertile volcanic soil and moderate temperatures, Rwanda's tea character is distinctive and sought-after. He credited this to the stringent quality standards enforced by Rwanda's National Agricultural Export Development Board (NAEB), complemented by regular training sessions for tea makers.

Minister Kyakulaga calls for improved tea quality

Crop production state minister Fred Bwino Kyakulaga said during an engagement organised by the East African Tea Trade Association recently at Africana Hotel in Kampala, that the Government is committed to support the tea sector.

Crop production state minister Fred Bwino Kyakulaga said during an engagement organised by the East African Tea Trade Association recently at Africana Hotel in Kampala, that the Government is committed to support the tea sector. (Photo by Nelson Mandela Muhoozi)

He reiterated the Government's commitment to supporting the tea sector and acknowledged the various challenges confronting tea traders.

The meeting aimed at soliciting support to the Uganda tea industry in their current crisis. Already, about nine factories out of 41 have already shut down and others operating in under capacity.

However, Kyakulaga cautioned actors in the tea value chain to be mindful about quality as it is the underlying factor affecting export of tea.

As the Government seeks a lasting solution to the deteriorating prices of the cash crop, he told actors in the value chain that 70 per cent of the current tea sector crisis arises from quality issues.

But he also acknowledged that the ongoing crisis is attributed to a combination of factors, including quality, fluctuating global demand, increased competition from other tea-producing nations which exert pressure on Ugandan farmers.

Amidst the challenges ahead, he said there is optimism that with strategic interventions and collective action, Uganda's tea industry can overcome its current crisis and once again flourish.

“There is hope that if Uganda improves on the quality of her tea, there will be ready market,” he said, adding: “The tea producers have requested for a bailout of shillings 126.2 billion to ease on the industry crisis. And government is looking into this request, and the detail is that we hope to help the producers through the Agriculture Trade Facility so that they can be able to access financing at six per cent, as opposed to 12 per cent which has been the case for all the agriculture financing related interventions”.

However, he said the farmer is a big stakeholder in solving the tea crisis because the matters of quality lie mostly in the hands of farmers.

The crisis is global

East African Tea Trade Association (EATTA) chairperson Arthur Sewe said the crisis is not unique to only Uganda, but that it has been felt among all the other tea producing countries.

However, he said that Uganda’s problem is a bit unique since it is mainly based on the quality of the finial product.

East African Tea Trade Association (EATTA) chairperson Arthur Sewe during an engagement organised by the East African Tea Trade Association recently at Africana Hotel. (Photo by Nelson Mandela Muhoozi)

“The quality of Uganda’s final product is not matching with the much-required quality of the final product at the Mombasa Tea Auction,” he said.

Charles Kibandi, the general manager at Venus Tea Borkers Ltd, Kenya, said the South Sudan political conflict has to the biggest extent also contributed to the outcries of the players in the tea sector since a good quantity of Uganda’s teas are bought by South Sudan.

“From May last year, that is when we started seeing Uganda’s tea prices drop sharply, this being attributable to the fact that South Sudan went into war,” he noted.

In addition, Kibandi also noted on the issue of non-tarif barriers (NTBs), saying there is need for the government of Kenya and Uganda to dialogue of this issue since it is affecting the traders in terms of the cost of operation.

“NTBs like bonded warehouses for non-Kenyan teas is discriminatory and adds to the operation costs and thereby reducing their gains of the sector players. There is need for inter-governmental dialogue in order to forge a way forward on this issue,” he said.

The chairperson of Uganda Tea Association (UTA), Gregory Mugabe, noted during the meeting that he is happy that now everyone in the sector is ready to move in the same direction 'as we seek to combat to the current crisis'.

“We sought intervention from our neighbours in EATTA, a voluntary organisation bringing together tea producers, buyers (exporters), brokers, tea packers, and warehouses so that they can give us insights on how we can best handle the tea crisis in Uganda,” Mugabe said.

George Omuga, the EATTA managing director, emphatically spoke about the need for the use of fertilisers. He said the more you harvest the tea should be the more the soil is replenished.

“Absence of fertilisers has also affected the quality of Ugandan teas and we advocate for a government fertiliser subsidy programme to ensure farmers get access to affordable fertilisers as this is critical to quality of the tea leaf,” he said.

The sector proposed a shillings 41.2 billion fertiliser grant to enhance quality. According to players, the price for fertilisers is so high for tea farmers to breakeven. They said that in the last four years the prices have increased from shillings 70,000 to shillings 245,000.

Revenue from tea subsector

The sector contributes in excess of $150m (about shillings 578.550 billion per year in revenue for the country, and is currently a source of employment, household income and livelihood for over 1.2 million Ugandans, and directly employs close to 100,000 people.

Tea sector players seek audience with President Museveni

Ugandan tea traders and EATTA members are pressing for a meeting with President Museveni to address the current crisis plaguing the tea sector.

The demand comes amidst growing concerns over the challenges faced by tea traders and the need for government intervention to stabilise the industry.

The tea industry in Uganda has been grappling with a range of issues, including fluctuating market prices, inadequate infrastructure, and limited access to credit facilities.

These challenges have significantly impacted the livelihoods of tea farmers and traders, prompting demands from stakeholders to meet the fountain of honour amid the crisis.

During the anticipated meeting with President Museveni, tea traders said they want to outline their concerns and propose viable solutions to revitalize the sector.

Tea sector players pose for picture after an engagement organised by the East African Tea Trade Association recently at Africana Hotel. (Photo by Nelson Mandela Muhoozi)

Key issues on their agenda include improving market access, enhancing value addition, and implementing supportive policies to boost tea production and trade.

Tips from Rwanda on how to maintain quality

• Educate farmers on good husbandry to take care of tea bushes
• Pluck within plucking cycle before overgrowth- within 14 days
• Set quality parameters for green leaf standard
• Two leaves & a bud have 85% of desired characteristics in tea
• Maintain fine plucking standards, 2 leaves & a bud
• The chemicals in lower leaves dilute the liquor
• Enforce the policy of good leaf to attain good final product

Plucking green leaf

• Fine plucking leads to desired cup wholeness, full aroma, briskness, and flavor. These characters are responsible for good cup quality
• Fine plucking yields more due to shorter plucking rounds
• Avoid coarse plucking. It compromises quality
• It leads to open-leaf, low-density and overworks machines raising costs

Withering and fermentation parameters

• Set optimal parameters for withering and fermentation
• Good withers lead to brighter and brisk liquors – most desired 
• Fermentation under optimal temperature and aeration controls lead to the desired characters recognized by tea tasters – Price

Leaf appearance

• The manufactured leaf must be clean and free from fiber and stalk (these make leaf to be brownish-undesirable trait)
• Clean leaf free from stalk and fiber earns better price
• Leaf size should be uniform and true to the grade i.e. BP1, PF1, PD and D1 without any mixing