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%.
