{"id":102,"date":"2011-05-02T16:01:59","date_gmt":"2011-05-02T16:01:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/rwanda-expects-to-fetch-u-s-60-million-in-tea\/"},"modified":"2011-05-02T15:32:38","modified_gmt":"2011-05-02T15:32:38","slug":"rwanda-expects-to-fetch-u-s-60-million-in-tea","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/rwanda-expects-to-fetch-u-s-60-million-in-tea\/","title":{"rendered":"Rwanda expects to fetch U.S.$60 million in tea exports"},"content":{"rendered":"

Rwanda
\nexpects to fetch at least $60 million from its tea this year buoyed by
\nincreased international commodity prices.<\/strong><\/o:p><\/p>\n

Tea
\nhas become one of Rwanda\u2019s main exports by value with its revenue increasing
\nfrom $48.2 million in 2009 to $58 million in 2010. According to Rwanda Tea
\nDevelopment Authority, the value of tea has increased largely due to recovery
\nof global prices while the volume has fallen slightly due to harsh weather
\nconditions experienced from July to October last year.<\/o:p><\/p>\n

“The
\nrains were so scarce during those months : The yields are expected to be less
\nthan those we experienced in the previous year. But because of slightly better
\nprices we many get around $60 million this year,” the tea agency\u2019s
\ndirector general Anthony Butera<\/span> said. Mr Butera<\/span> noted that in the first three
\nmonths of this year, tea earnings hit a record high of $8 million signaling
\nhigher revenue for the rest of the year.<\/o:p><\/p>\n

“If
\nwe can get that in the April, May June quarter, we may exceed the $60 million
\nmark. Currently prices are at an average of $2.7 – $2.8 per kilogramme<\/span>,”
\nhe said. Last year\u2019s prices were $2.5-$2.6 per kilogramme<\/span>.<\/o:p><\/p>\n

Mr
\nButera<\/span> warned that productivity is still low with the output generally lower
\nthan elsewhere in the region.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

“Currently
\nour average harvest is 7,000-8,000 kilogrammes<\/span> of green leaf per hectare per
\nannum compared with Kenya which can go up to 17,000 per hectare per
\nannum,” he said. To boost productivity, Rwanda Tea Development Authority
\nhas set up a fertiliser<\/span> fund mainly funded by tea factories and farmers to
\nfacilitate purchasing and distribution of fertilisers<\/span> at subsidised<\/span> prices. The
\nauthority\u2019s target is to increase tea plantation yields to 9,000kg<\/span> by the end
\nof June. In addition, it is investing in encouraging tea growers to practice
\nbetter farming methods.<\/o:p><\/p>\n

Currently, tea plantations cover 17,000 hectares. According to the 2008 Rwanda Tea
\nStrategy, government intends to generate wealth by selling a high quality range
\nof branded Rwandan teas with some added value through partnerships with new and
\nexisting buyers in Europe, US and the Middle East.<\/o:p><\/p>\n

Currently,
\nRwanda sells its standard teas in bulk form at auction, mostly to Asian buyers
\nand a small but growing number of European and Middle Eastern buyers.<\/o:p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Rwanda expects to fetch at least $60 million from its tea this year buoyed by increased international commodity prices. Tea has become one of Rwanda\u2019s main exports by value with its revenue increasing from $48.2 million in 2009 to $58 million in 2010. According to Rwanda Tea Development Authority, the value of tea has increased […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[],"byline":[277],"hashtag":[],"class_list":["post-102","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-business","byline-igihe-com-reporter"],"bylines":[{"id":277,"name":"IGIHE.com Reporter","slug":"igihe-com-reporter","description":"","image":{"id":0,"url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/?s=96&d=mm&f=y&r=g","alt":"Default avatar","title":"Default avatar","caption":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","sizes":[]},"user_id":null}],"contributors":[{"id":277,"name":"IGIHE.com Reporter","slug":"igihe-com-reporter","description":"","image":{"id":0,"url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/?s=96&d=mm&f=y&r=g","alt":"Default avatar","title":"Default avatar","caption":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","sizes":[]},"user_id":null}],"featured_image":null,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/102","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=102"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/102\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=102"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=102"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=102"},{"taxonomy":"byline","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/byline?post=102"},{"taxonomy":"hashtag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/hashtag?post=102"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}