Kenyan tea prices at auction hit the roof

NAIROBI, Wednesday

Kenyan tea prices hit their highest levels in more than a decade at this week’s auction thanks to good quality and tight world supply, brokers said.

The average price for Best BP1s hit $4.03 per kg, up from a previous high of $3.97 reached in August.

Tea offered at the weekly auction in Mombasa has fetched higher prices this year with buyers stocking up as drought in the world’s biggest exporter of black tea hit production.

“The prices are very high. They are almost reaching the records of ‘96, ‘97 and thereabouts. It is just because of demand. There is less tea in the world, quality is about at its best,” one broker told Reuters.