Kenya expects to increase tea export to China

NAIROBI, May 5 (Xinhua) -- Kenya is keen to expand its tea export to China in order to boost the sector's revenues, a government official said Friday.

"This year, we expect the volume to increase as more Kenyan orthodox and black teas find their way to China," said Peris Mudida, head of the Tea Directorate at the Agriculture and Food Authority of Kenya, the world's top tea exporter.

Tea contributes about 23 percent of total foreign exchange earnings in Kenya, according to the Tea Directorate. The country produces more than 450 million kg of tea annually, and the industry supports about 5 million people directly and indirectly in the East African country with a population of 53 million.

According to the Tea Industry Committee of the China Association for the Promotion of International Agricultural Cooperation, Kenya exported 1.4 million kg of tea to China in 2022.

Mudida said that Kenya recently signed a Memorandum of Understanding with a Chinese company that will help enhance the manufacturing capacity of tea factories in the country and expand their access to the global market. "This is of significant importance to the tea industry as Kenya can easily meet China's immediate and future tea requirements," Mudida said.