Kenya’s tea exports to Ireland continue to rise with volumes growing more than three fold in the first month of the year as a result of direct purchases of the commodity after Brexit. Data from the Tea Directorate indicate that volumes bought by Ireland in January rose to 433,440 kilogrammes from 133,071 kilogrammes in corresponding […]
Category: Agriculture
Struggling Kenyan State abattoir KMC forms debt collection task force
Cash-strapped Kenya Meat Commission (KMC) has formed a task force to spearhead collection of debts as it moves to settle liabilities. The State-owned meat processor owes livestock farmers Sh254.4 million for supplies and has outstanding payroll deductions totalling Sh144.7 million. Managing commissioner James Ole Seriani told Parliament that upon recovery of the money, the company […]
Kenya’s listed coffee firms face profit hit due to poor global prices
Listed agriculture firms dealing in coffee are facing a hit on profits following a fall in the price of the commodity in the international market and lower production due to drought last year. Earnings dropped by Sh1.4 billion in seven months to April compared with the same period last year, on account of low prices […]
Kenya’s fresh produce exports earning rises 11 pct in 2017
Kenya’s earnings from fresh produce exports in 2017 jumped to 1.15 billion U.S. dollars, an 11 percent increase over 2016 earnings, the industry association said on Thursday. Fresh Produce Consortium of Kenya (FPC Kenya) Chairman Sylvester Maina told journalists in Nairobi that the sector remained resilient amid political and economic uncertainties of 2017. “We laud […]
Demand for Africa’s baobab fruit increases in the UK
Pic: An elephant rests under a baobab tree in Tarangire National Park in Tanzania. Baobab fruit sales have increased by over 1,600 per cent in some areas of the United Kingdom (UK) as commodity experts suggest that it is set to become a new western super-food. The benefits of baobab have long been known in […]
Kenya: Maize reserves drop as Govt delays $40m pay due to millers
Pic: Trucks queue to deliver maize to the National Cereals and Produce Board, Eldoret depot. ( Photo By JARED NYATAYA | NMG) Kenya says the maize will last up to May with the deficit expected to be filled through cross-border imports as a short-term measure. The country had only 15 million bags of maize as […]
Kenya’s top pineapple producer Kakuzi turns to more profitable avocados
Kakuzi, Kenya’s top pineapple producer to focus more on avocados which have higher margins.
Zanzibar export earnings increase by 27% driven by cloves and seaweed sales
Zanzibar’s earnings from exports of goods and services have increased by 26.9 per cent in the year ending January 2018, thanks to an improvement in the major exports of cloves and seaweeds. The Bank of Tanzania (BoT) Monthly Economic Review (MER)of February 2018 indicates that earnings increased to $225.9 million during the year ending January […]
India Ban Hits Tanzania’s Pigeon Pea Farming
Tanzania’s Sh537 billion ($240 million) pigeon pea industry is on a sharp nosedive after India banned import of the legumes from Tanzania in August last year. The unanticipated restriction is now wreaking havoc on hundreds of pigeon pea farmers and traders across the country who are holding hundreds of tonnes of the legume for lack […]
Lack of subsidised natural gas said to stall operations 3 foreign owned fertiliser plants
Three fertiliser manufactories find it difficult to start their operations due to a lack of natural gas in their operations. Natural gas is the main and preferred feedstock in the manufacturing of urea fertilisers. The three companies are Helm AG of Germany, Ferrostal Industries Project GmbH of Germany and Capital DW Fertiliser Company of Egypt. […]