Kenya sees tea output recovery after dismal Q1

Monday, 30 April 2012 00:00 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

NAIROBI (Reuters): Heavy rains are expected to cause a turnaround in tea production in Kenya, the world’s leading exporter of black tea, after drought and frost led to a 15 percent drop in first quarter output, the country’s tea board said on Friday.

Tea is a top foreign exchange earner in east Africa’s biggest economy, raking in $1.27 billion last year.

Production for the first three months of this year fell 15 percent to 72 million kg compared with the same period in 2011, hurt by drought and frost, the tea board said.

Kenya has been pounded by heavy rainfall in recent weeks in its main rainy season, inundating farmlands, but damaging some roads used to take tea to factories.

Sicily Kariuki, the board’s managing director, said despite the reduction of tea output caused by the adverse weather, the tea board still maintained its earlier projection of a 5 percent fall in 2012 production from last year’s 377 million kg.

She said a revision of this target would only come after the half year mark, when a clearer picture could emerge.

“We experienced some harsh weather conditions, but we have taken a corner now so we are hoping for a recovery at the point of production,” Kariuki told Reuters.

“It (rain) is quite intense in the tea growing areas. The bushes are beginning to recover now because it takes a bit of time before you can see good tea getting out,” she said.