Abstract:
Tea production is the mainstay of millions of people worldwide, majority of them
found in the poorest countries of the world. The contribution of the tea sector to the
economy of Kenya is enormous as it accounts for 4% of the GDP and indirectly
supports 10% of Kenya’s population. Export performance defines the extent to which
small scale tea farmers earn their living. The main focus of the study was to find out
the determinants of tea export performance in Kenya. About ten 10% of the
population in Kenya depends on tea production (Tea Board of Kenya, 2012). The
main objective of this study was to establish the determinants of export performance
of KTDA managed factories in Kenya. The main variables considered were
marketing strategy, firm size, liberalization and technology and how they affect
performance. Export performance in the tea industry is affected by massive over
production, collapsing prices, deteriorating quality, poor marketing strategy, lack of
value addition and the growing inequality along the tea value-chain. The study
employed descriptive research and adopted random sampling technique. The actual
number of respondents targeted was 84 but 76 were interviewed as the study sampled
21 tea factories out of 65. The four senior managers, FUM, PM, FA and FSC were
interviewed. The response rate was 90.5 as 76 questionnaires were successfully filled
and analyzed. The respondents were drawn from the target population of 65 tea
factories managed by KTDA Ltd which are found on both the East and West of the
Great Rift Valley. These are the regions known for tea growing and are divided
administratively into 12 zones and seven regions. Primary data was collected using
closed and open ended questions and some were on a likert scale. Data analysis was
done using a number of tests including Pearson Correlation Coefficient, multiple
regression and Analysis of Variance (ANOVA). The study found out that marketing
strategy, firm size, liberalization and technology are critical determinants of export
performance of KTDA managed factories in Kenya. Government policy which was
the moderating variable was found to have a negative effect on Tea export
performance in Kenya.
