Kenya shipped more sisal to the international market in the second quarter of 2022 as demand rose globally, forcing producers to mop up earlier stocks and sell, the Fibre Directorate said.
The government agency said in a report Thursday for the period released in Nairobi, the capital of Kenya, that the country exported 7,237 metric tonnes (MT) of the produce, up from 7,134 MT in a similar period in 2021.
The bulk of the produce was shipped in June when the East African nation exported 2,594 MT of sisal.
The country earned 1.46 billion shillings (about 12.25 million U.S. dollars) from the product during the quarter, up from 10.2 million dollars in Q2 of 2021.
During the period, the agency said buyers in the global markets shunned high-grade sisal for middle-grade produce to make some savings.
“The reason for this change in preference is attributed to the high prices experienced due to inflation and high foreign exchange rates, causing customers to forfeit their most-preferred grade to the lower one to make a saving,” said the directorate.
The top destinations of the Kenyan produce are Nigeria, South Arabia, China, Ghana, and Egypt.
A sizable percentage of sisal in Kenya is produced by smallholder growers spread in arid and semi-arid lands. Enditem
