Tea Prices Slightly Gains In The First Sale Of The Year.
KEY POINTS
A kilo of tea traded at an average of USD 2.25(278.10 shillings) an increase from USD2.22(274.39 shillings) a similar amount fetched in the last sale of 2022.
KEY TAKEAWAYS
The Ministry of Agriculture set USD2.43 (300.23 shillings) as the minimum price for a kilo of tea for all the Kenya Tea Development Agency (KTDA) teas in 2021 to protect farmers’ earnings. The price of the commodity has however remained below the reserve price for the past month owing to low demand from key buyers which has persisted since June.
Tea prices at the weekly Mombasa auction slightly gained in the first sale of the year despite low demand from key buyers.
Data from the East African Tea Trade Association (EATTA) shows a kilo of the beverage traded at an average of USD 2.25(278.10 shillings) an increase from the USD2.22(274.39 shillings) a similar amount fetched in the last sale of 2022.
The amount is still below the government-set minimum price and saw the total volume traded in the latest sale reduce by 112,883 kilos compared to the last sale in 2022.
“The first sale of the year opened with fair demand at irregular levels for the 220,070 packages (14,708,900 kilos) available for sale. 158,850 packages (10,540,634 Kilos) were sold with 27.82 percent of the packages remaining unsold,” said EATTA managing director Edward Mudibo.
The Ministry of Agriculture set USD2.43 (300.23 shillings) as the minimum price for a kilo of tea for all the Kenya Tea Development Agency (KTDA) teas in 2021 to protect farmers’ earnings. The price of the commodity has however remained below the reserve price for the past month owing to low demand from key buyers which has persisted since June.
Russia and Pakistan are some of the countries that have cut consumption of Kenya’s tea. The Russia-Ukraine war affected the shipping of the commodity to the country’s 5th largest consumer. The Tea Board of Kenya confirmed that there was a huge decline in Russia’s earnings in march last year, with the volumes sinking to 686,072 from 2.6 million kilos sold in a similar period in 2021.
Pakistan on the other hand trimmed its consumption due to financial uncertainties.
In the latest sale, Egyptian Packers showed more support with Pakistan Packers, Bazaar, Afghanistan, Yemen, and other Middle Eastern countries active but at lower levels.
‘’Kazakhstan and other CIS states lent selective activity with UK and Russia maintaining participation. Sudan showed reduced inquiry while Iran was quiet. Local Packers were less active while Somalia maintained interest at the lower end of the market,” said Mudibo.
Related Content: Tea Prices Close The Year Below The Minimum Price Amid Reduced Demand
