GOVERNMENT INTENSIFIES EFFORT TO SPUR TO TEA INDUSTRY DEVELOPMENT

The Ministry of Agriculture and Animal Resources (MINAGRI), through the National Agriculture export Board (NAEB), is strengthening efforts aimed at boosting the country’s tea exports and revenues.

According to senior officials, the ministry has devised strategies to increase tea volume for export by increasing productivity and working closely with all tea stakeholders to ensure good quality and add value along the whole value chain.

“We’re calling for great partnership among tea farmers, private operators and tea factories in bid to increase productivity, enhance quality and keep taking Rwanda’s tea industry to the level,” pointed out Fulgence Nsengiyumva, Minister of State in charge of agriculture.

The Minister of State made the statement last week while launching tea planting season in Karongi District of Western Province; where 4000 tea seedlings were planted as part of the ongoing tea expansion drive.

Introduced in Rwanda in 1961, currently, tea is grown on 26,274ha by 42,840 farmers located in 12 districts of mainly northern, western and southern parts of the country. With new strategies to increase the volume, tea acreage is expected to be expanded on more than 9000ha in the first phase.

At the same time, farmers are being assisted through tea Farmer Field Schools on how to apply best farming practices and fertilizer use in a bid to attain 9 tons/ha productivity by 2020 from the current 7.5 tons/ha.

Most tea produced in Rwanda is black tea, green tea, orthodox tea, white tea, organic tea and spicy teas. The country produces one of the best quality teas in the world; and approximately 98.3% is exported in raw form, where 70% is sold at the auction, 28.3% directly and 1.7% locally.

So far, the country has fifteen tea factories and eight of them are located in the Western province. Three more factories are being settled and will open soon in a bid to add value to the country’s tea.

Rwanda tea on average fetches consistently the highest auction prices as a result of deliberate policy to focus on high quality tea production.

The country’s tea produce increased from 14,500 tons in 2000 to 25,128 tons in 2016/17. Last year, the country exported 24,414.920 tons of tea; generating 63,421,106 USD.

Over the last three years, Rwanda tea was shipped to 48 countries; Pakistan leading with 47% of the country’s tea export, the United Kingdom with 15%, and Egypt with 6% among others.

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