Kenya

Hot, dry weather in regions east of the Rift Valley, home to much of Kenya’s tea production, is being blamed for a 7% decrease in tea production in the first quarter of 2009.

The Tea Board of Kenya estimates that production dropped to 65.8 million kg from January to March, down from 70.7 million kg produced in the first quarter of 2008.

Dry weather is also being blamed for decreased first quarter crop sizes in other large black-tea growing countries, according to the Tea Board, citing a fall of 41% in Sri Lanka’s output to 30.3 million kg in the first two months of the year, and reported declines of 13% in Indonesia, 12% in Bangladesh and 7% in India.

But Kenyan tea exports rose 14% to 93.8 million kgs in the first quarter compared with the same period a year earlier when supplies were affected by a wave of unrest initiated by post-election violence.