May 12, 2016

By GAI News Staff

Unilever’s Rwandan subsidiary is investing US$50 million in the development of two tea estates, construction of a tea process factory, and to engage with small-scale producers in the country reports Reuters.

Along with coffee, tea is a key export commodity for Rwanda. Recent development efforts and the addition of new tea factories in the country have sparked growth in the sector. In the first quarter of 2016, Rwanda’s tea export revenue increased year on year, reaching $18.8 million in first quarter 2016 compared to $17.7 million in the first quarter 2015 according to a report by the National Agriculture Export Board (NAEB), reports the New Times. In 2015, the country produced 25,700 tons of tea earning $72 million for the year according to Tony Nsanganira, Rwanda’s state minister for agriculture, and by 2018, the NEAB projects that Rwanda will increase its tea exports to a value of $94.9 million.

Amid this growth, Unilever entered the country in 2014.

Unilever Rwanda states that the new venture will include the development of 4,000 acres of tea plantations, and a processing facility that will have a capacity of 6,000 tons of tea. Construction of the facility is scheduled to be completed within five years, and the venture is expected to create 2,000 jobs, according to Reuters.

A decline in mineral prices on the global market has placed Rwanda in a similar position as many oil-dependent countries. Total exports for the country fell by 6.8% in value to $558.8 million from $599.8 million in 2014, while export volumes fell by 20.5%. However, tea prices have seen an uptick in recent months. New Times reports that prices on the Mombasa auction saw a small increase in the third week of April, topping $2.1 – up from $2 at the previous auction.