Kenya’s tea export fell 26% in the first quarter of the year as a result of the conflict in Sudan.
With traders anticipating lower imports by Khartoum in the following months should the civil unrest persist, Sudan, one of Kenyan tea’s top five export destinations, has already experienced a 59 percent reduction in volume delivered to the country.
According to the Tea Board of Kenya, the total amount of tea shipped during the review period was 99.8 million kilogrammes, down from the 135 million kilograms recorded during the same time last year.
Lower export volumes were caused by less imports from Pakistan, Egypt, and Sudan since these markets were experiencing problems with their foreign exchange reserves, according to the directorate.
Due to the difficulties posed by the war, which has decreased demand for the beverage and created a logistical headache for shippers, traders have lamented that it is becoming increasingly difficult for tea to penetrate the Sudanese market.
“The war has had a huge impact on the teas that we sell to Sudan, and it has significantly reduced the volumes,” said Peter Kimanga, a tea merchant with Global Tea Commodities in Mombasa.
The situation on the Sudanese market has made matters worse for Kenya’s tea export to major markets, which has already been adversely affected by a lack of foreign exchange reserves in Pakistan and Egypt, two of Kenya’s biggest buyers.
In the review period, exports to Pakistan dropped by 48 percent with Egypt recording a 33 percent decline compared with the same period last year.
The prolonged fighting in Sudan, which is now entering the second month, will have a negative impact on farmers, whose earnings are likely to reduce, with Kenya facing an overall decline in forex earnings due to a dip in export volumes.
Tea is one of the top foreign earners and it earned Kenya Ksh138 billion ($988,538) last year on the back of an increase in export volumes.
The United Kingdom was the only top market for the Kenyan beverage, which recorded positive growth in quarter one with the volumes having jumped by 16 percent to 11 million kilos.
The Tea Board of Kenya has been seeking new tea markets as it moves to diversify the market for the beverage and cut overreliance on the top 10 buyers who account for 85 percent of the total volumes that are exported.