- Tea earnings fell as supply tightened, but quality produce continued attracting premium prices.
- A handful of KTDA factories secured top prices at the Mombasa auction, led by Mununga.
- Coffee farmers also recorded strong returns, with Tegu coffee fetching the week’s highest price.
Tea and coffee farmers generated Ksh 1.721 billion from the auction last week, compared to Ksh 2.60 billion the previous week.
In the tea market coordinated at the Mombasa Tea Auction, Kenya Tea Development Agency (KTDA)-managed factories netted a total of Ksh 832.8 million, as the coffee farmers got Ksh 839 million from the Nairobi Coffee Exchange (NCE).
In tea market analysis, the East African Tea Trade Association (EATTA) report outlined that in the week, seven factories achieved prices above Ksh 387 ($3) per kg, compared to 15 in the previous week.
The report indicated that factories that achieved the highest prices were Mununga Ksh 432.15 ($3.35), Imenti Ksh 416.67 ($3.23), Githongo Ksh 403.77 ($3.13), and Rukuriri Ksh 399.9 ($3.10).
Other best-performing factories were Ngere, Kiego, Gathuthi, Mungania, Kimunye, Kathangariri, and Gacharage.
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KTDA Chairman Enos Njeru said in the past month offers at the market had reduced following the majority of the farmers having plucked their bushes, awaiting rejuvenation after the expected short rains.
“As the production from the smallholder factories reduces, the growers are producing quality tea targeting the best prices in the regional market,” said Njeru.
EATTA Managing Director George Omuga said in the week Kenya offered the highest consignment of 5,211,851 kg, followed by Uganda 990,126 kg, Rwanda 460,830 kg, and Burundi 9,520 kg.
“In the week, Mombasa Tea Auction traded 6,672,327 kg, with Rwanda having offered the highest price of Ksh 390.87 ($3.03) per kg,” he said.
Kenya, he added, came second with Ksh 292.83 ($2.27) per kg.
In the coffee sector, the farmers fetched Ksh 839 million after the auction of 17,315 bags of coffee through the NCE, where Tegu factory coffee marketed through Alliance Berries Limited fetched the best price of Ksh 56,064.84 per 50 kg bag.
The NCE report outlined that New KPCU sold 4,949 bags of coffee, Alliance Berries Limited 3,470 bags, Kirinyaga Slopes 2,947 bags, CEBBA 1,063 bags, among others.
“The coffee brokers offered 1,497 bags of grade AA, 6,869 bags of grade AB and 5,107 bags of grade C,” said the NCE CEO Lisper Ndung’u.
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