China rejects tea from Kenya over high fluoride levels

The Chinese government has rejected most of Kenya’s tea leaves over high fluoride content, erecting yet another road block on Kenya’s bid to grow its earnings from tea exports.

Officials at Kenya’s tea directorate say the rigorous checks introduced by Chinese regulators seeking to curb entry of high fluoride content tea into their market has significantly cut exports to the Asian nation.

“We have not yet understood why China has introduced this standard, which has never been a quality requirement in all other tea markets including our traditional ones,” said Ms Elizabeth Kimenyi, interim head at the Directorate. Most Kenyan tea is grown in Rift Valley, a region where soils tend to have high fluoride content.

“We are pursuing the matter with the relevant authorities so that we can sort out the issue soon since China provides a huge market for our tea,” Ms Kimenyi told the Senate committee on Agriculture, Livestock and Fisheries that visited the Mombasa tea auction on Tuesday...............