The weekly Mombasa Tea Auction held on the 26th and 27th October 2020 had 9.8 million kilograms of tea offered for sale. The amount on offer increased from 9.7 million kilograms offered in the same period last year, and 9.5 million kilograms offered in the previous sale.
Of all the tea offered for sale, 8.9 million kilograms were sold compared to 8.8 million kilograms sold in the same period in 2019, and 8.7 million kilograms sold in the previous sale.
The tea auction recorded a stagnation in prices as compared to the last sale held on 19th and 21st October 2020, with a kilogram selling at an average price of $1.92. However, the tea auction recorded a drastic decline in prices compared to the same period last year where a kilogram sold at an average of $2.23.
Meanwhile, Kenya’s tea exports fell by 14,000 tons in the first eight months of 2020, attributed to a decrease in the demand for the product in the world market.
Data from the Tea Directorate shows that export volumes for tea for the period dropped from 337,000 tons in 2019 to 323,000 tons in 2020. This stemmed from a 7% drop in exports to Pakistan and a 14% drop in exports to Egypt. Pakistan remains Kenya’s largest market, shipping about 36% of the total production.
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