Wednesday, December 9, 2009

Industry Focus - Agriculture


Burundi: Coffee prices rose from USD 3.2 per kg in September 2009 to USD 3.4 per kg in October mirroring global markets rally ahead of winter season. The state-run coffee board (OCIBU, Office du Café du Burundi) forecasts that coffee prices are expected to continue to rise in the coming months but production for the 2009/10 season that started in October could fall by up to 55% to around 11,000 tonnes due to the cyclical nature of harvests, in which harvests peak every second year.

Kenya: Tea prices rose to an average of USD 5.3 per kg at the tea auction in Mombasa, due to supply shortages caused by the prolonged dry weather conditions. The Kenya Tea Development Agency (KTDA) announced that it plans to raise the price of initial payment to farmers for green leaf tea by about 15% from 10.5 Shillings (13.5 US cents) per kg to 12 Shillings (15.4 US cents) per kg from January 2010.

Uganda: Tea production fell by 8.4% during January - October 2009 following a drought that cut yields. The Uganda Tea Association (UTA) reported that output for January - October fell to 33.8 million kgs from 36.9 million kgs in the same period last year, with tea exports falling by 11% to 32.4 million kgs.