Ugandan tea exporters urge Kenya to remove trade barriers
Ugandan tea exporters have requested the removal of several barriers to trade with neighboring Kenya. According to the Uganda Tea Association, current receipts, verification and clearing procedures put their produce at a disadvantage at the Mombasa tea auction, one of the biggest in the world. Importers of Ugandan tea also want a permit levy charged on shipments to the Mombasa auction scrapped to improve the competitiveness of the commodity. Uganda is the second largest player at the Mombasa auction after Kenya and produced 59 million kilos of tea least year. Tea producing countries in East and Central Africa, with the exception of Malawi which runs its own auction, sell their produce at the Mombasa auction.