Rwanda tea export revenues generate more than USD 93 mln in fiscal year 2019/2020

National Agricultural Export Development Board (NAEB) statistics have recorded that Rwanda's tea export revenues have generated more than USD 93 million (over Rwf90 billion) in the fiscal year 2019/2020, representing a 12 percent increase compared to the over USD 83 million (about Rwf80 billion) fetched in 2018/2019, according to a news report by The New Times.

The statistics also show that tea export volumes increased by 7 percent from more than 30,500 tonnes in 2018/2019 to more than 32,600 tonnes in 2019/2020.

The revenue figures imply a rebound in Rwanda's tea exports in the financial year that ended in June 2020 as revenues had decreased by 5 percent from USD 88 million in 2017/2018 to 83 million in 2018/2019, despite a 10 percent rise in tea export volumes.

Speaking to The New Times, Pie Ntwari, the NAEB Communication Officer said that factors that drove up the revenues include relatively good prices at the international market last year compared to the previous one, as well as increased production.

"There are new tea plantations which started giving yield. This enabled factories to process more tea for export," he said, adding that Rwanda has 18 tea processing factories.

In December 2019, NAEB announced that tea farmers will be getting more income following a move allowing them to earn 50 percent of the price at which a kilogram of processed tea is sold on the international market.

This reflects 10 percentage points higher compared to 40 percent that they were receiving on a kilogram before.