Kenya's small farmers see annual revenue tumble by a quarter
Kenya Tea Development Agency announced that its members' revenue had plunged by 24 percent this financial year due to excess tea supplies. Following a spell of favorable weather conditions and bumper crop, prices at Mombasa auctions averaged $2.43 per kilogram in 2014 compared with $3.26 last year, while output of small-scale farmers remained steady. This is a concern for over 500,000 small farmers in Kenya that account for about 60% of its tea output, with the rest coming from large plantations. Kenya is the world's leading exporter of black tea with about $1.3 billion in foreign currency earnings last year.