Drought pushes down tea production

BY PETER MUTAI

Tea production declined eight per cent in the 2010/2011 financial year, a stakeholder meeting was told.

Kenya Tea Growers Association (KTGA), an umbrella body comprising plantation sector produced 159.4 million kilos of tea down from 174.1 million kilos produced in 2010. KTGA Chairman Charles Kipng’ok attributed the decline to the dry and hot weather conditions in the tea growing regions in the first half of last year.

Kipng’ok said production from tea growing areas in the east and west of the Rift Valley declined.

Kipng’ok, also the managing director of Kericho based Kaisugu Tea, said smallholder sub-sector contributed 58 per cent of local tea, while the plantation sector (KTGA) contributed 42 per cent.

Pakistan overtook Egypt as the leading importer of Kenyan tea last year. The country exported tea to 54 destinations. [PHOTO: FILE/STANDARD]

He said on Thursday at a Kericho hotel during the KTGA Annual General Meeting attended by the association’s branches from Kericho, Sotik, Nandi and Limuru.

Last year, the total area under tea stood at 147,757 hectares out of which 13,757 hectares belonged to KTGA. Smallholder sector managed by KTDA is about 95,000 hectares while other non-association’s growers combined accounts for 39,000 hectares.

Increased earnings

During the year, a three per cent decrease in production was registered in the smallholder sub-sector, which was from 224.9 million kilogrammes to 218.5 million kilogrammes.

Despite the decline in exports, the country earned Sh109 billion which was 12 per cent increase in earnings compared to 2010.

"Export earnings rose due to improved prices following the weakening of the shilling against the dollar. These improved export earnings made the tea industry to be the leading foreign exchange earner," he added.

During the year, the shilling exchanged at Sh88.87 to the dollar compared to Sh79.23 in 2010 while the average unit price of Kenya tea for the year increased to $2.99 from $2.75 realised in 2010 due to the high international prices and a weak shilling.