About

Tanzania Tea Packers Limited (TATEPA) started in 1995 via the acquisition of some of the assets of Tanzania Tea Blenders, which was then part of the Tanzania Tea Authority.69 The Tanzania Tea Authority (TTA) was transformed in 1998 to a government agency, now Tea Board of Tanzania (TBT), which since then regulates the Tanzanian tea sector.70 In 1999, TATEPA went public on the Dar es Salaam stock market (DSE). It became the third largest company at DSE in 2008. TATEPA owns 75% of the stock of the Wakulima Tea Company Limited (WATCO). WATCO buys fresh tealeaves from the smallholder farmers (SHF) who are members of the Rungwe Smallholders Tea Growers Association (RSTGA). The Rungwe smallholder farmers own the other 25% of the stock of WATCO. WATCO processes the tealeaves into dried tea and sells it to wholesale companies on the domestic and export markets. TATEPA sells WATCO tea under the Chai Bora brand in the domestic market. It sells tea to Teadirect, a subsidiary of Cafédirect Limited, which markets the tea internationally under the fair trade mark. Headquarters, marketing centers, and distribution channels of TATEPA are all in Dar es Salaam. Tanzania has 15 tea companies, including TATEPA. In 2008, TATEPA had a 70% market share in the domestic market. Apart from the domestic market, TATEPA is the only tea company that supplies tea for the global fair trade niche market. Source: http://dissertations.ub.rug.nl/FILES/faculties/jur/2011/a.k.n.kamuzora/08_c8.pdf