The Mombasa Tea Auction is set to receive a record volume of teas this week, bolstered by previously withdrawn beverages belonging to Kenya Tea Development Agency (KTDA) that failed to attract buyers.

According to the auction catalog by the East African Tea Trade Association (EATTA), which manages the auction, 300,000 packages of the commodity will be offered for sale, the highest number since the auction's inception.

A third of these are reprints--teas that were previously offered but did not attract bids.

The large volume of unsold teas is attributed to KTDA's minimum price policy, which has driven up the cost of tea across all grades.

"We are going to have a record high this week with more of these teas coming from the previous ones that were offered for sale but did not attract bids," said Peter Kimanga, a Mombasa-based tea trader.

Critics argue that linking the minimum price to production costs rather than the intrinsic value of the tea is unwise.

Industry experts highlight the impracticality of setting a uniform market price due to the varying quality of teas from different regions. Traders assert that the diverse nature of teas from different locations makes a standardised market price unfeasible.

"Auction prices should reflect the inherent disparities in quality between teas originating from the eastern and western regions of the Rift," said a tea trader, criticising the current pricing structure.

As a result, the rigid minimum price policy has led buyers to favour alternative high-quality teas over KTDA offerings, increasing the volume of unsold tea at the auction.