Commodities

Tea prices touch 18-week high at Mombasa auction

tea

Workers use tea picking machines in a tea plantation in Kericho. FILE PHOTO | NMG

Tea prices at Mombasa auction rallied last week to touch the two-dollar per kilo mark for the first time in 18 weeks, indicating demand is picking up amid a decline in volumes.

Data from the East Africa Tea Traders Association indicates that the price of the beverage increased from Sh216 ($1.97) in the previous week to Sh220 ($2.00) last week.

This was the sixth straight time that the price of the commodity has gone up at the weekly auction.

The price of the commodity at the auction had started on a high note in the first sale of January before taking a dip in the subsequent sales.

The increase in value on Tuesday saw a decline in withdrawals of quantities of tea that had been offered for sale during the trading.

The withdrawals stood at 14 percent in the latest auction when compared with 15 percent in the previous week.

Compared with the corresponding period last year, the price of the beverage has gone up. In the ninth sale of 2020, the commodity fetched Sh216.

Kenya’s tea has been facing demand challenge in the world market as the effects of Covid-19 are still taking a toll on the commodity pushing down the cost.