Rwanda Tea Authority (OCIR-THE), a parastatal charged with overseeing the production and marketing of tea in the country projects revenue from tea trading to double.

Currently the country earns $16.9 million as of September, but it may hit a record mark of $40.2 million (about Frw21.8 billion) by the end of this year.

The country produced 17,000 tonnes as of June, but the volume is expected to increase to 22,000 tonnes by December.

To boost production and ensure quality, substantive amounts of money have been invested in expanding tea plantations and factories.

"We expect to make more investments next year in tea plantations and increase capacity of Mushubi, Karongi and Bweyeyi factories to handle quality tea,” Alex Kanyankole director general, OCIR-THE said.

Export figures from Ocir The indicate that last year tea fetched over $25.2 million compared to $21 million and $18 million in 2001 and 2000 respectively. And, 70 per cent of the tea was  sold at the weekly Mombasa tea Auction, while the remaining 30 per cent was sold by direct sales to importers and domestic buyers.

At Mombassa, the average price of tea is $3 per kilogramme.

The country is moving into producing high quality tea—green and orthodox tea that fetch much money at international market.

Ends