Rwanda’s tea export revenue to Nigeria, Pakistan and United Kingdom has rose by more than 72 per cent in November to $4.2million from $2.46m in October, The National Agricultural Exports Board (NAEB) has said.
The country exports its tea mainly to, Sudan, Russia, Egypt, Ireland, Afghanistan and the United Arab Emirates. The sector employs over 50,000 farmers who earn between Rwf123 and Rwf155 per kilo they sell to tea companies. Figures from the exports board also indicated that export volumes went up by 86.9 per cent over the period to 1,752.1 tons compared to the 937.2 tons shipped out in October.
The head of tea division at NAEB, Jean Damascene Gasarabwe attributed the increase to the rainy season that led to better yields of the crop. He added that the upward trend was expected to continue until June this year when the dry season sets in. Tea export volumes stood at 22,563 tons in 2012 from 20,300 tons in 2011.
Rwanda’s tea has steadily acquired international acclaim and attracted more foreign direct investments, the most recent by Scotland’s second-richest man, Sir Ian Wood, who earlier last year announced plans to inject £7.5million in the sector. Most of the tea (60 per cent) is sold at the Mombasa auction, with a small percentage being bought by individual buyers (37 per cent), while 3 per cent of the tea is sold locally.
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