Tea production for the month of October 2024 dropped by 2.73 Million Kgs from 52.79 Million Kgs recorded during the same period of last year to 50.06 Million Kgs. Lower production was attributed to generally low and poorly distributed rainfall experienced within the county. Though the month of Ocober marks the onset of the "Short-rains" season, the amount of rainfall recorded in most parts of the tea growing areas was depressed (near-to-below average precipitation for the month of October). However, unlike this year, the "Short-rains" season last year recorded moderate and well distrubuted precipitation characterized by heavy storms and warmer temperatures, which was associated with El Nino weather conditions.
During the month of October this year, most of the tea growing areas within the West of Rift experienced low to moderate rainfall of between 9mm to 38mm daily with the exception of Kericho and Nandi, respectively, which recorded higher precipitation of ranging from 20 to 73mm daily. However, precipitation within the tea growing areas in the East of Rift was relatively lower compared to the West of Rift at between 1 mm to 35mm daily. Consequently, production in the growing areas within the West of Rift was significantly lower by 3.92 Million Kgs from 36.03 Million Kgs recorded in the month of October 2023 to 32.11 Million Kgs. However, compared to the same period of last year, output with the East of Rift was higher by 1.19 Million Kgs from 16.75 Million Kgs to 17.94 Million Kgs.
Download Kenya Tea Industry Performance Report - 2024 October (PDF, 5.54MB)