Tea top forex earner with Sh109bn

Earnings from Kenya’s tea shot up by 12 per cent to hit a record Sh109 billion in 2011 from Sh97 billion in 2010, despite a dip in production.

The record performance places tea as the highest foreign exchange earner in 2011 compared with horticulture and tourism, which suffered Al Shabaab security threats that scared away tourists.

Production slipped 5.5 per cent to 377 million kilos in the year from 399 kilos produced previously, due to adverse weather conditions experienced through 2011.

Announcing the sector’s results at the ministry of Agriculture headquarters on Wednesday, the government said the impressive results were largely attributed to high international prices and weakening of the shilling towards the end of the year, which favoured the export market.

“The strategy is to increase yields to keep up with the impressive results, since we do not have control over other factors such as exchange rates and international prices,” said Agriculture permanent secretary, Dr Romano Kiome.

Compared to 2010, production in the small-scale sub-sector, which contributes about 60 per cent of the country’s total output dropped to 218.5 million kilos from 224.9 million kilos. The plantation sub-sector reduced from 174.1 million kilos to 159.4 million kilos.

Production is expected to dip further in the first-quarter of 2012, due to dry weather since December 2011 combined with incidences of frost that affected an about 2 per cent of tea-growing areas at the beginning of the year.

Kenya is the world’s largest black tea exporter with about 70 per cent of her tea consumed in major markets including Egypt, Pakistan, United Kingdom, Afghanistan and Sudan.

However, with all the demand in international markets, local consumption of tea remains dismal challenged by soft drinks and alcohol.

“A survey conducted three years ago revealed that because of having a generally young population, the country consumes more alcohol and soft drinks, which threatens consumption of tea in the country,” Ms Sicily Kariuki, the Tea Board of Kenya Managing Director said.