Kenya’s tea export grew by 20 percent in the first quarter of the year backed by good prices, which helped to offset a significant decline in volumes. Data from the Kenya Tea Board (TBK) shows Kenya earned Sh41.1 billion in the period under review when compared with Sh34.3 billion that was realised in the corresponding period a year earlier. The volumes of tea exported in the review period declined by 17 million kilogrammes to 135.4 million Kilos.
The good price that the beverage fetched in the review period, which stood at Sh303.8 a kilo on average, against Sh223.8 on, lifted the overall earnings, compensating for the low volumes. “The decline in export volume was majorly due to the effect of the Russia-Ukraine crisis that caused a global economic recession and thus negatively affecting commodity markets,” said TBK in the monthly report. All the top export markets for Kenyan teas recorded a decline, underlying the danger that the country is staring at in overreliance on specific buyers.