Kenyan tea farmers have banked Ksh1.6 billion from the Mombasa Tea Auction, helped by buyers who paid more for premium grades.
Prices were strongest east of the Rift. According to a report by the East African Tea Trade Association (EATTA), most factories in the Mt Kenya region sold their tea above Ksh387 per kilo. Michimikuru Factory stood out with Ksh444.43 per kilo, while Momul Factory led the west of the Rift with Ksh347.01.
Regional rivals still did better on the day. Rwandan tea fetched $3.22 (Ksh415.38) per kilo, well ahead of the Kenyan average of $2.36 (Ksh304.44). In total, 47 local and international buyers took part in the sale.
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Volumes tell the rest of the story. Buyers took up 6.5 million kilos, and factories managed by the Kenya Tea Development Agency (KTDA) sold 2.8 million of them for Ksh1.04 billion. A week earlier, those factories had earned Ksh950 million from 2.6 million kilos.
Supply is currently tight, according to KTDA National Chairman Enos Njeru. He said fewer teas have reached both the auction and direct sales because farmers have pruned their bushes on the advice of agricultural extension officers, who see it as a way to raise quality.
Njeru, who is also a director at Rukuriri Tea Factory, urged farmers nationwide to keep plucking quality green leaf as standard practice requires. That discipline, he said, helps the crop earn the best price in the market.
By Benedict Aoya
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