Tea picking. [Photo/capitalfm.co.ke]To end feuds on quality, Kenya Bureau of Standards (Kebs) will take over the testing of consignments of tea destined for the Sudanese market.Managing director Charles Ongwae said officials had been posted to Mombasa to conduct tests on tea meant for Sudan.The inspection was previously carried out by private firms.Mr Ongwae said, “We have finalised everything and Kebs will start issuing certificates of conformity to traders exporting tea to Sudan in the next few days. This is what Sudan wanted us to do”.He said that Kebs will charge traders Sh5,000 per inspected consignment compared to the Sh70,000 levied by private firms.Kenya is at loggerheads with Sudan over the shelf life of its tea, a situation that has threatened trade with the country — one of the top 10 buyer of the commodity.The Tea Directorate said that a recent meeting with stakeholders had endorsed Kebs to test all tea consignments headed for Sudan. A Kenyan delegation will travel to Sudan in January for further discussions to resolve the stalemate.Kenya is the world’s leading exporter of black tea and the commodity is a major foreign exchange earner.Kenya’s tea exports also dropped to 221.1 million kilos in the period to the end of June, from 257.7 million kilos during a similar period last year.

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