TheNational Agricultural Exports Board (NAEB) has started a countrywide sensitisation campaign to promote quality along the tea value chain.

Pie Ntwari, the head of communications and public relations at NAEB, said they will train sector players in tea calibration to enhance knowledge and skills on tea growing, processing, packaging and testing procedures.

"This particular campaign is aimed at exchanging information on machinery used to process each type of tea, understanding tea tasting terminology, and techniques used in processing different types of tea,” he said.

James Anzabwa, the in charge of SORWATHE specialty tea processing unit,  said  the training will equip stakeholders with requisite skills and knowledge to help boost tea quality, especially by observing appropriate tea processing techniques and tasting procedures.

Rwanda’s revenue from tea exports increased cumulatively   from $28.64 million at end of May 2015 to close to $30 million in the first week of June.

And according to Corneille Ntakirutimana NAEB’s head of tea division, efforts to increase productivity and value addition by the export board are ongoing. 

Recently the NAEB unveiled a new strategy to increase exports at an average annual growth rate of 24 per cent at least.

Under the strategy, the agency is targeting to increase annual tea export receipts to $95 million by 2018 from $65.7 million in 2013. NAEB also plans to distribute over 43 million tea seedlings by the end of 2017. The initiative could see the country’s annual tea export earnings double to $147 million by 2017. So far more than 13.7 million tea seedlings have been distributed and planted.