The government has suspended the fixed minimum price of tea at the weekly auction in Mombasa, hoping to unlock new purchases that would help reduce unsold stocks shunned by buyers since last year.
The State set a minimum price of $2.43 (Sh313.31) per kilogramme of tea in 2022 to safeguard farmers’ earnings. A standoff over State-fixed minimum prices at the Mombasa tea auction has left warehouses overflowing with stocks of unsold consignments, with industry estimates showing that about 60 percent of stocks sent to the weekly auction over the past year remain unsold and stashed in overstretch warehouses.
