Egypt crisis affects sales of Kenya tea

By partrick beja

Players in the tea industry in Mombasa are optimistic of a return to business once protests in Egypt calm down.

They said although the protests that led to the exit of President Mubarak had seen sluggish purchase of tea, the situation would improve when banks become fully operational.

Egypt is a key buyer of Kenyan tea with annual revenue of up to Sh15 billion.

The political crisis in Egypt has created instability in the East African tea market as buyers have adopted a wait-and-see attitude.

And with a decline in supply of tea in the world market because of global warming and other factors, Kenyan tea traders say prices may improve.

Drought and global warning is expected to influence the decline in tea supply and enhance prices.

A member of Mombasa-based East Africa Tea Trade Association (EATTA) Mr Peter Kimanga said they were hopeful the Egyptian tea market would stabilise soon.

"Egypt is a key tea market for Kenya and we hope that the situation will calm down and the demand from that country rise again," he said.