Kenyan tea output drops 7% on hot weather
Kenya, the worlds biggest exporter of black tea, recorded a 7% decline in output in the first quarter because of hot, dry weather in most tea-producing areas of the country. According to the Tea Board of Kenya, production declined to 65.8 million kilograms (145.1 million lbs) in the three months through March, from 70.7 million kilograms in the same period in 2008 due to continuing droughts. Exports from the east African country rose 14 percent to 93.8 million kilograms in the first quarter compared with the same period a year earlier.