The Citizen (Dar es Salaam)
Hassan Mghenyi
29 June 2009
Six per cent less tea was offered to the Mombasa tea auction last week compared with the quantity of produce proffered during the similar period a year ago.
The Africa Tea Brokers Limited noted that 249,621.5 kilos were offered last week and 209,175.5 kilos were purchased compared with 264,909.5 kilos in the similar period last year when 235,710 kilos were bought.
The Tanzania tea was bought at an average of $1.38 a kilo last week, down from $1.49 in the corresponding period a year earlier.
Last week's market price averaged $2.21 a kilo. Primary grade tea was sold at an average of $1.6 a kilo last week - less than $1.72 in the corresponding period last year while the secondary grade traded at an average of $1.02 a kilo against $1.01.
As of last month, Tanzania offered 1.543 million kilos of tea to the Mombasa market of which 1.29 million kilos were sold at an average of $1.34 a kilo. Brokers reported that 7,419,006 kilos were offered to the market of which 6,695,152.5 kilos were sold last week. In a similar period last year, 7,593,331 kilos were offered, but 6,650,559.5 were purchased.
The country offered 1.311 million kilos, but 1.197 kilos were purchased at an average of $1.45 a kilo during the corresponding period a year earlier.
The market handled 26.2 million kilos of tea of which 23.433 million kilos were sold at an average of $2.22 a kilo last month. In May last year, 25.193 million kilos were offered but 23.446 kilos were purchased at an average price of 2.14 a kilo.
Major buyers were Global Tea Commodities, James Finlay Mombasa, LAB International (K), Lipton and Abbas Traders. The Mombasa auction is the world's second largest tea market after Colombo.
Kenya is the third largest tea-producing country after China and India. Apart from Kenya, the Mombasa auction receives tea from Tanzania, Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi, Madagascar, Mozambique, Malawi and the Democratic Republic of Congo.
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