World’s biggest tea buyer Lipton’s sale of last farms is a strategy shift

LIPTON Teas & Infusions BV’s move to sell the last of its tea plantations is a strategic shift by the world’s biggest buyer of the commodity to quit growing the leaf and fully rely on other producers.

Plantations made up 15 per cent of its Lipton’s business before the decision to dispose farms in Kenya, Tanzania and Rwanda to focus on blending, packing and selling tea, according to chief executive officer Nathalie Roos. Sourcing all of its tea from the market will help fetch higher returns, she said in an interview.

“We are really shifting from volume to quality of tea,” Roos said.

Under the new plan in which Sri Lanka-based Browns Investments acquires Lipton’s plantations, the two firms will position Kenya’s tea as a premium product globally and boost earnings for growers, according to the East African nation’s presidency.

Kenya is the world’s biggest exporter of black tea and its sales are one of the nation’s main sources of foreign exchange.

Last year, Kenya shipped 523 million kg of the leaves, while neighbouring Tanzania aims to increase production to 60 million kg by 2025. BLOOMBERG