Top price of Kenya's best grade tea rises at auction

Kenya: The maximum price of the top grade Kenyan tea, Best Broken Pekoe Ones (BP1s), rose at auction this week compared with the previous sale, Africa Tea Brokers has said in a report. Kenya is the world's leading exporter of black tea and the crop is a key foreign exchange earner for the economy.

Meanwhile, the top price of benchmark grade AA coffee fell to $456 per 50-kg bag at auction this week from $486 at the last sale, according to Nairobi Coffee Exchange. Kenya produces speciality beans used by roasters to blend with beans from other countries.

Kenya has launched a coffee branding initiative designed to boost the country's reputation for producing high-quality beans and help the industry regain its position as a top foreign exchange earner.