Workers picking tea leaves at a farm in Kenya’s highlands. [Photo/ capitalfm.co.ke]

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Tea prices at the Mombasa auction reached a two-month high in the latest sale marking the third time in a row that tea has registered growth in price.

Mombasa Tea Auction (MTA) data indicates the commodity’s price rose marginally from Sh274 last week to Sh275 in the latest sale.

Tea volumes offered for sale at MTA also shot up by 39,000 kilograms.

Increased quantities, despite the drought that hit the country in previous months, resulted from the stocks which were carried over from 2016, the Tea Directorate said on Thursday.

“Out of 134,729 packages (8,860,000kgs) available for sale, 119,348 packages (7,767,097kgs) were sold with 11.4 per cent remaining unsold, East African Tea Traders Association said in its latest market report.

The sector expects an 11 percent drop in tea production in 2017 due to effects of drought cutting volumes from the farms. Agriculture and Food Authority said green leaf production will drop in 2017 to about 420 million kilograms from 473 million kilos in 2016.

Tea prices are, however, expected to improve during the period as a result of a decline in supply. 

Production in 2012 hit an all-time high of 473 million kilos- 18.4 percent higher compared to 399 million kilograms recorded in 2015.