Tea prices at the weekly Mombasa auction rose last week after dipping in the previous sale as the volume of the commodity on offer dropped by 48,636 kilogrammes.
The price of the beverage hit Sh279 from Sh272 amidst the ongoing drought that has resulted in low volumes.
“Out of 103,585 packages (6,720,000 kilos) available for sale, 93,480 (6,079,417 kilos) were sold with 9.75 per cent going unsold,” says East African Tea Traders Association (EATTA).
According to the lobby, there was strong support from Afghanistan while Pakistani, Yemeni and other Middle Eastern packers, UK, Russia and Iran showed more interest.
Egyptian packers maintained activity during the trading session but were selective. There was reduced enquiries from Kazakhstan and Sudan while Somalia was more active at the lower end of the market.
Tea production has dropped in factories with the regulator saying that the volumes are down 40 per cent. The ongoing drought has ravaged most parts of the country with the Tea Directorate saying most factories are currently operating below installed capacity due to the ongoing drought.
Kenya is world over renowned for producing black CTC tea. However, price volatility in the market is now leading to diversification as processors turn to purple, green and orthodox teas owing to better prices fetched.
The demand of green and purple tea has soared in recent days as consumers keen on good health seek the commodity for its medicinal value.A kilogramme of purple tea is going at Sh1,957 in the market in comparison to the black CTC that sells at Sh280 as per the latest auction.
Women picking tea. Photo courtesy