Tea production fell by 3.43 million kilogrammes in July marking the second monthly consecutive slump in output following the end of the long rains season.
Latest data from the Tea Board of Kenya (TBK) shows tea production fell by 7.1 per cent to 44.69 million kilogrammes down from 48.12 million kilogrammes produced in June.
Production of the green leaf has fallen for two months running since hitting a peak of 57.88 million kilogrammes in May.
The July harvest is the lowest since March when farmers harvested 30.48 million kilogrammes of tea.
Output is, however, still 10.69 million kilogrammes more than the 34 million kilogrammes that were produced in the same month last year.
The tea board has attributed this to the fact that the country still received occasional showers despite the end of the long rains compared to last year.
“However, due to the cold weather conditions, production for July was slightly lower compared to an output of 48.12 million kilogrammes recorded in June,” it said.
During the month, highlands West of the Rift Valley and a few areas over the Central Rift as well as highlands East of the Rift recorded moderate to lower amounts of rainfall.
Tea is Kenya’s main cash crop, and production follows a similar pattern each year where it peaks during the long rains and dips when the rains subside ushering in cold weather conditions.
Kenya has been relying on the top traditional markets of Pakistan, the UK, Sudan, Egypt, Russia, and others to sell its tea but has been scouting for new markets to boost sales.
Some of the countries that have increased tea imports from Kenya in recent years include the US, Ireland, Finland, and Ukraine at a time when the country is in an ever greater need for foreign exchange earnings.
Green leaf production in the year ended June for instance eased to 1.145 billion kg from 1.254 billion kg in 2022, marking the lowest output for the sector since 2019.
