This archive report was first published on 22 October 2019.
Kenya's tea farmers have been facing a tough time in recent months due to low international prices, but a recent price rally has brought some relief.
On Tuesday, October 22, 2019, traders released more tea for sale at the Mombasa auction, with the average price hitting Sh235 per kilo of made tea, a six-month high.
According to a market report by the East Africa Tea Trade Association (Eatta), sellers released stocks of 7.7 million kilos out of 8.9 million available for sale, with just 10 per cent of the offer going unsold.
Tea prices had been significantly low in the last two months, hitting a low of Sh176 in July, which had seen sellers withdraw from the auction.
Tea farmers affiliated to KTDA earned decreased returns of Sh69.7 billion in the 2018/2019 financial year, attributed to low international prices. The previous year farmers earned Sh84 billion.
The reduced earnings placed Kenya at position two globally in terms of payment to farmers, with an average payment of Sh42 per kilogramme, following Sri-Lanka at Sh48.
Kenya is the leading exporter of tea in the world, selling 95 per cent of its tea in the global market.
