Pakistan becomes world largest importer of Kenyan tea

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan has become the world largest import of Kenyan tea by purchasing 40 per cent of the total production of the country, ARY News reported.

According to the data issued by the Kenyan tea directorate, Pakistan imported tea worth ‎KSh35 billion during the last 10 months.

The directorate said that the country has emerged a major buyer of the Kenyan beverage as it had imported 14.8 million kilograms tea during the period.

The data revealed that a total of 420 million kilograms of tea was exported through the auction. Pakistan had imported 394 million kilogram tea during the same period in the last year.

Last year on March 3, Pakistan had imported tea worth $347.305 million during the first seven months of the current fiscal year, showing growth of 2.15 per cent when compared to the imports of $339.992 million during the corresponding period of last year.

According to Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS), Pakistan had imported 132,748 metric tons of tea during July-January (2018-19) against the imports of $339,992 metric tons during July-January (2017-18), showing increase of 20.52 per cent in terms of quantity, the PBS had data revealed.

The overall food imports into the country declined by 8.29 per cent during the period under review. The total food imports into the country during the first seven months of the current year were recorded at $3464.490 million against the imports of $3777.472 million during the corresponding period of last fiscal year.