Tea prices at the Mombasa auction remained unchanged even as volumes traded increased this week.
A kilo sold for an average $2.55 (Sh289.68) same as last week, above the set reserve price of $2.43.
The total volume traded was 1,126,140 kilos more than last week’s sale, auction manager– East African Tea Trade Association (EATTA) has reported.
“A good general demand was experienced for the 217,146 packages (14,117,264 kilos) for sale with 182,146 packages (11,999,305 kilos) being sold. 16.12 per cent packages remained unsold,” EATTA managing director Edward Mudibo notes.
Pakistan Packers and Egyptian Packers showed strong support and were dominant with useful interest from Yemen and other Middle Eastern countries while Bazaar, Kazakhstan, other CIS states and Russia were more active.
“Sudan and UK lent good but selective enquiry with Afghanistan less active; Iran showed some interest. There was less support from the Local Packers. Somalia were active at the lower end of the market,” said Mudibo.
The commodity fetched $2.45 (Sh278.32) at the first auction of this year before slightly dropping to $2.43 (Sh276.05) in the second week.
A strong dollar against the shilling continues to promise farmers high earnings for the financial year ending June 30.
This, even as the Kenya Tea Development Agency (KTDA) Holdings remains confident reforms in the sector, including the reserve price, will change the landscape and better farmers’ earnings.
Since its introduction, tea prices have increased by more than 50 per cent.
“We are hopeful that this trend will continue in the second half of the financial year (January to June 2022), when the full impact of the minimum price will be felt,” KTDA Holdings Limited Group CEO, Wilson Muthaura, told the Star.
