Mombasa tea auction raises Sh15 million for charity

East African Tea Trade Association chair Albert Otachi with Marketing manager Brian Ngwiri speaks to the press during the auctioning of tea in their Mombasa office, Mombasa county.They informed the people that they are auctioning tea for charity purposes.{Photo/Mkamburi Mwawasi/Standard.

Tea traders at the Mombasa auction raised a record Sh5.7 million in 15 minutes during a charity auction whose proceeds will be donated to children’s homes.

Global tea buyers from Europe, Pakistani and Britain bought the best tea (PFI), which averagely trades at $3 (Sh309) during normal sales at $25 (Sh2, 575). The 4,000 kilos of tea sold during auction was donated by tea producers who are members of the East Africa Tea Trade Association (EATTA) who trade through the Mombasa auction.

SELECTED HOMES

The charity auction was a build-up to the Third Global Tea Convention to be held in Nairobi between May 10 and 12.

“It was a very successful auction because we have raised $57,180 (Sh588, 130),” said EATTA Chairman Albert Otochi.

He said the proceeds from the charity auction, which is part of EATTA’s Corporate Social Responsibility, will go to selected children’s homes in Kenya, Rwanda and Burundi.

In last week’s regular auction, the average tea prices remained constant at $2.74 (Sh103) although Kenya Tea Development Agency (KTDA) prices averaged Sh309.

“This shows that our members are philanthropic enough and ready to give back to society. We have now agreed to do the charitable auction annually,” said Mr Otochi. He said the Global Te Convention, which will bring together tea trade experts and players from across the globe, will deliberate on challenges facing the global tea market.

Already, 450 participants, half of them from outside the country, have confirmed their participation. “The convention will deliberate the sustainability of tea value chain in light of challenges like climate change,” said the new EATTA chair.

He said the meeting will focus on the tea industry’s concerns like rising production costs, the need to ensure appropriate revenue for the smallholder farmers and the threats of climate change.