Jay Shree Tea & Industries Ltd

AFRICA

As the most recent of the tea producing countries, African countries have been able to build on the experience of other producers. As a result, Africa is now a major force in world tea, producing teas of high quality and good bright colour which are used for blending all over the world. Four countries in Africa, Kenya, Malawi, Tanzania and Zimbabwe, produce a total of about 25% of world exports amounting to some 250,000 tons.

Kenya: One of the oldest of the African producers, Kenya has a history of tea dating back to 1903, when tea seeds from India were first planted on a two acre farm. Today, Kenya has 69000 hectares under cultivation by smallholders (shambas), under the aegis of the Kenya Tea Development Authority, and tea producing companies in the public and private sector. Kenya exports over 180,000 tons of tea per year (18% of world exports). Kenya's equatorial climate allows tea growing all year round. The teas are very bright, colorful, with a reddish coppery tint and a pleasant brisk flavour. Kenya specialty tea is ideal as a drink for any time of day.

Malawi: Malawi is the pioneer of tea growing in Africa, with production first starting commercially in the 1880s in Mulanje. Now exporting over 35,000 tons annually, Malawi has a 4% share of world exports and is mainly responsible for the spread of tea cultivation in Africa. Malawi was the first African country to adopt the cloning method of estate refurbishment. Although Malawi teas are not so well known as specialty teas, their superb colour and brightness lends them for use in blending.

Tanzania: Tea production in Tanzania is thought to be the legacy of German colonization under the reign of Kaiser Wilhelm II, but its real development took place under British estate ownership between the two World Wars. Tanzania now exports over 18,000 tons of tea annually. These different altitudes result in distinct tea characteristics, but all Tanzanian teas are bright in colour with a brisk flavour that makes them ideal for use in blending.

Zimbabwe: Tea production in Zimbabwe could begin commercially only after the successful establishment of irrigated tea estates. With an average annual rainfall of not more than 26 inches per annum (as opposed to the 50 plus inches per annum usually required), irrigation is essential to continuous cultivation: and Zimbabwe now exports over 8000 tons of tea per year. Today, tea is a "controlled" commodity in Zimbabwe so that its quality and industry growth is protected.