Kenyan tea prices were mixed at this week's auction, with some easing on quality despite good demand, brokers said on Wednesday. Mombasa-based Africa Tea Brokers (ATB) said 150,179 packages were offered for sale compared with 143,715 last week.
Of the total, 22,499 packages were unsold compared with 21,623 at the last auction. "Fair general demand prevailed for the 150,170 packages on offer at irregular rates following quality with easing tendencies as the sale progressed," ATB said in a report.
Top BP1s sold at $2.35-$2.57 per kg compared with $2.45-$2.69 at the last sale. Best PF1s fetched $1.61-$2.10 from $1.62-$2.16 previously. James Finely, a Mombasa-based packer, said in a market report that Afghanistan, Pakistan Packers and Egypt Packers bought more tea than at last week's auction. "The UK market, the Bazaar, Sudan, Yemen and other Middle Eastern countries maintained interest while Russia was active."