Economical production of tea in the Republic of Kenya

Kenya has become one of the largest supplierlargest supplierd markets. Last year, it was second only to Sri lanka.This success story is the product of two main developments. First came the establishment of an efficient estate sector under the leadership of British Tea Companies which, in the last 35 years, have introduced revolutionary improvements in estate and factory management, as well as investing in increased planted areas, with a resulting five-fold surge in output.The selection of high-yielding varieties, the selective application of herbicides and fertilizer, improved planting and cultivation methods, had together had a dramatic effect on yields, which in turn has changed manufacturing processes in order to deal with the larger volumes of harvested leaf.