KTDA-affiliated firms net Sh679m at tea auction

A farmer picks tea on her farm. [File, Standard]

Smallholder tea factories last week netted Sh679 million after the sale of 2.60 million kilos (kgs) of tea at the Mombasa tea auction. The factories that achieved the premier prices are Gathuthi, Mununga, Igembe, Ndima, Kiegoi, Githongo, Imenti, Makomboki, Rukuriri and Ngere, at between Sh371 per kg and Sh352 per kilo.

Factories from the west of the rift that offered the highest volume are Boito (124,734 kgs), Kobel (104,128 kgs), Oleng (111,969 kgs), and Momul (110,192 kgs).  “Igembe tea factory in Meru offered 3,002 kgs and was listed as the least in the auction,” detailed the report.

“The prices have also been down with hopes that the ongoing rains will improve the situation for the interest of the tea growers,” said Kamore, an expert in the tea value chain.

The auction handled 6.7 million kilos from four countries withi East Africa. Kenya presented 5.4 million kilos sourced from the KTDA factories and independent tea producers, Uganda (805,469 kilos), Rwanda (389,334 kgs) and Burundi (160,204 kgs).

During the auction conducted on September 29 and September 30, there were 47 buyers, compared to 13 registered last week.

In the buyers category, Global Tea bought 17,980 packages, Mitchell Cott 14,700 packages, LAB International 6,320 packages, and KTDA-owned Chai Trading 5,760 packages, among others.