Kenya tea prices dip at latest sale

14 Mar, 2014

NAIROBI: The highest price for top Kenyan tea fell to $3.60 per kg at this week's sale from $3.70 per kg last week, Africa Tea Brokers (ATB) said.

Prices for Best Broken Pekoe Ones (BP1s) fetched $264-$360 per kg compared with $2.80-$3.70 per kg last week, ATB said. Best Brighter Pekoe Fanning Ones (PF1s) sold at $2.22-$2.95 from $2.30-$3.02 per kg at the last sale.

ATB said 17.72 percent of the 132,739 packages, or 8.55 million kg, of tea offered was left unsold.

Last week 19.23 percent of the 140,010 packages weighing 8.19 million kg offered were left unsold. Kenya is the leading world exporter of black tea and the crop is a major foreign exchange earner for east Africa's largest economy, together with horticulture and tourism.

Demand was strong from Pakistan and Yemen while Afghanistan, Bazaar, Kazakhstan and Russia were less active in the market than last week.

Most of the tea auctioned at the Mombasa auction is from Kenya, but it also offers tea from Uganda, Tanzania, Rwanda, Burundi and other regional producers.

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