Tea Prices Increase Marginally At The Mombasa Auction

By Jane Muia / Published September 2, 2022 | 10:59 am

KEY POINTS

This year Kenyan tea has managed to remain above two dollars per kilo as compared to last year when the prices ranged between $1.80 (Sh 215.28 ) and $1.90 (Sh 227.24 ).

KEY TAKEAWAYS

Russia has been the 5th-largest consumer of Kenya’s tea after the United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, Egypt, and Pakistan. The Tea Board of Kenya confirmed that there was a huge decline in Russia’s earnings in March, with the volumes sinking to 686,072 from 2.6 million kilos sold in a similar period last year.

Tea prices have increased marginally at the Mombasa auction over demand increase from key export markets. Data by the East African Tea Trade Association (EATA) shows a kilo of the beverage traded at an average of $2.26 (271.54 shillings) this week, up from $2.22 (266.73 shillings) last week.

“There was a fairly good demand that prevailed for the packages available for sale,” EAATA managing director Edward Mudibo said.

This year Kenyan tea has managed to remain above two dollars per kilo as compared to last year when the prices ranged between $1.80 (Sh 215.28 ) and $1.90 (Sh 227.24 ).

This is despite low demand from some of the key buyers such as Pakistan. In June Pakistan announced that it would cut tea consumption, citing financial uncertainties. Pakistan is the top consumer of Kenya’s tea. According to industry data, Pakistan buys an average of up to 70 million kilograms of Kenyan tea annually.

Last year Kenya exported tea valued at $503 million to Pakistan. According to the East African Tea Trade Association (EATTA), Pakistan is the biggest buyer at the Mombasa Tea Auction, taking up 38 percent of the total weekly sales.

Tea prices have been dwindling in the last seven months due to continuous disruptions in the global markets. The Russia-Ukraine war led to the blockage of shipping routes of the beverage to Kenya’s key markets.

Tea is among Kenya’s leading exports and has been hailed for earning the country high revenue alongside the horticulture sector. Last year, tea accounted for about 19.6 percent of the total domestic exports valued at 130.9 billion shillings.

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