Kenya faces earnings fall from droughts
Tea industry in Kenya is facing the worst year in a decade, as shortfalls in earnings and output take their toll on the entire sector. Tea production and revenue have fallen approximately ten percent, while the droughts are likely to continue. Farms and factories are experiencing shortage of leaves, with some factories considering temporary closures if conditions do not improve. At the Kericho-based Unilever Tea estates, one of the largest commercial enterprises in Kenya employing more than 20,000 people, only two out of the seven factories have been operational due to dwindling production of green leaf through out the first quarter of 2009.