Rwanda’s tea export revenues dropped by 31.6 per cent in September to $2.75m from $4.02m in August, the National Agricultural Exports Board (NAEB) has said.Figures from the exports board also indicate that export volumes fell by 31.5 per cent over the period to 1,124.3 tonnes compared to the 1,164 tonnes shipped out in August.The export price per kilogramme was at $2.45 during the two months.Jean Damascene Gasarabwe, the head of tea division at NAEB, attributed the decline to the ‘extended dry season’ that affected production countrywide. He added that the downward trend was expected to continue this month.He was, however, optimistic that tea export earnings would improve in November because of the current rain season which will boost production.Tea export volumes stood at 22,563 tonnes last year from 20,300 tonnes in 2011.Also, owing to relatively good prices last year, export revenues from tea rose from $61.1m in 2011, to $63.9m in 2012. Gasarabwe said they were targeting to earn $147m from the crop by 2017, after expanding plantations.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 this year announced plans to inject £7.5m 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.It is mainly exported to Pakistan, Sudan, Russia, Egypt, Nigeria, the UK, 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.
