Kapchorua Tea data 27% revenue surge to US$3M  | Meals Enterprise Africa

KENYA – Kapchorua Tea, a Kenyan agricultural plantation agency, has reported a 27 p.c rise in income to KES399.4 million (US$3M) for the monetary yr ending March 2024, up from KES314.5 million (US$2.4M) within the earlier yr.  

This surge in income is attributed to improved manufacturing and a weaker shilling, regardless of ongoing challenges on the Mombasa tea public sale. 

Income from tea gross sales additionally elevated considerably, standing at KES2.19 billion (US$16.98M) in comparison with KES1.7 billion (US$13.2M) recorded the earlier yr.  

The corporate noticed a 44.5 p.c improve in tea manufacturing, with complete output rising to eight.69 million kilograms (kgs) from 6.01 million kgs.  

This development was largely pushed by the completion of Kapchorua’s manufacturing facility enlargement, which enabled the agency to course of and buy extra inexperienced leaf from smallholder farmers. 

“The manufacturing facility enlargement concluded and reported on final has enabled Kapchorua to buy considerably extra inexperienced leaf from small holder farmers than in earlier years leading to a file crop for the farm,” mentioned Kapchorua within the 2024 annual report. 

The agency’s own-grown tea manufacturing grew from 1.73 million kgs to 2.2 million kgs, whereas inexperienced leaf purchases from smallholder farmers rose to six.48 million kgs, up from 4.27 million kgs the yr earlier than. 

Kapchorua’s current manufacturing facility enlargement, which included extra withering house, a brand new processing line, and expanded sorting and packaging services, performed a key position within the firm’s file manufacturing ranges.  

The agency mentioned that the extra processing would permit Kapchorua to take extra inexperienced leaf in the course of the heavy cropping months reasonably than limiting intakes to earlier capacities benefiting the farmers and the corporate. 

Regardless of the sturdy manufacturing and income figures, the corporate offered 7.316 million kgs of tea in the course of the interval, leaving 1.375 million kgs unsold.  

The corporate cited backlogs on the Mombasa tea public sale as a key issue, noting that many unsold teas, together with these from the Kenya Tea Growth Company (KTDA), have strained the public sale system. 

“To additional complicate an already tough scenario the unsold, reprinted KTDA teas, usually 50% of the Mombasa public sale choices are, together with many different teas, being offered in an public sale that’s at present unfit for function,” the agency mentioned. 

Following the outcomes, Kapchorua declared a remaining dividend of KES15 (US$0.12) per share, paid out on September 2, 2024.