A lethal combination of high
production costs, f luctuating
exchange rates, the high cost of
credit and an ongoing drought
continues to batter the agricultural
sector across sub-Saharan Africa.
In Kenya, where agriculture
contributes some 29% to GDP, one
of the largest black tea producers in
the world has warned of a decline
in earnings in 2017. The drought
alone is believed to have curbed tea
production by as much as 30% in
the past financial year.
South Africa also continues
to feel the impact of the drought
and is now in its second year of
below optimal crop production
conditions.
In April this year major agri
business, McCain South Africa,
announced it was mitigating the
impact by adjusting its business
models. In a statement the
company said it had seen, in some
cases, local yield losses of up to
30%.
