Kenya traders expect tea prices to return to normal by the end of the year from record highs on forecasts the drought-stricken east African country will get above average rainfall soon, the head of a trade body said on Friday. Tea offered at the weekly auction in Mombasa has fetched high prices most of this year with buyers stocking up as drought in the world's biggest exporter of black tea cut production.
"We predict prices will return to normal because the rains are expected to return," said Kipkirui arap Lang'at, East Africa Tea Trade Association's managing director. "When we close the year - after 50 auctions - we anticipate the drop by volume to be less than 10 percent, but because of the rise in price we will probably do the same or better than last year," he told Reuters. The Tea Board of Kenya said on Friday the average auction price so far this year stands at $2.49 per kg compared with $2.38 in the same period last year.