Prices for top quality Kenyan teas dipped at this week's auction due to weakened interest from Pakistan and poorer quality on the back of heavy seasonal rain, traders said on Wednesday.
Medium to lower qualities were supported by interest from Egyptian buyers.
"BP1s (Best Broken Pekoes Ones) have come down with quality. Quality will continue to drop. There's been a lot of rain upcountry and factories are working above capacity to deal with the higher output of crop," an official at Africa Tea Brokers in Mombasa said.
He said more than 106,000 packages had been sold at this week's auction out of 112,398 packages on offer, compared to sales of 115,201 packages or 7.54 million kg sold last week.
The top and bottom prices for BP1s eased to $2.12-$2.60 per kg from $2.14-$2.67 last week.