Kenyan tea prices gained at this week's auction due to reduced volumes of the crop and lingering doubts about recovery prospects for production, traders said on Wednesday. The east African country's tea output fell 21 percent to 157 million kg in the first six months of 2008 from 198 million kg in the same period last year, government statistics showed.
The African Tea Brokers (ATB) said 87,434 packages were offered for sale at this week's auction, with 14,170 unsold. In the previous sale, 83,704 packages were offered for sale with 10,689 remaining unsold.