Tea factories might be forced to process leaf and store the commodity in warehouses awaiting sale at the Mombasa auction should the situation worsen over the coronavirus.

To cushion farmers from a prolonged period of slow sales, factories will store processed tea, said Paul Ringera, a director at Githongo Tea Factory in Meru.

There are fears that even as the Mombasa auction was conducted this week, if lockdowns continue in Kenya’s tea markets abroad the value chain disruption is likely to trickle down to green leaf harvesting.

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