Kenya tea exports up 10% in first quarter

NAIROBI (Reuters): Kenya’s tea exports rose 10 percent in the first quarter of this year even while output fell, the Tea Board of Kenya said on Monday.
The board said the east African nation exported 118.1 million kg in January through March, up from 107.4 million kg in the same period of 2011.

Kenya is the world’s leading exporter of black tea, which is the east African economy’s top foreign exchange earner, having fetched 109 billion shillings ($1.3 billion) in 2011.
The Board’s Managing Director said on Friday that drought and frost had led to a 15 per cent drop in first-quarter output to 72 million kg but that heavy rains were expected to cause a turnaround in tea production.
The Mombasa-based tea auction handled 68.1 million kg in the first quarter, sold at an average of $ 2.96 per kg, down from 65.8 million kg sold in the first quarter of 2011, the board said.
It said Pakistan was the leading buyer of Kenya’s tea, taking 26.5 million kg, or 22 percent of total exports, while Egypt bought 24.5 million kg and Britain 15.9 million kg.
It said Egyptian purchases rose by 39 per cent growth, while Pakistan’s increased 13 per cent and British buying slowed by 15 per cent.