Traditional buyers of Kenya’s tea increased their volumes by 34 percent to 61.3 million kilograms in the first two months of the year from a year earlier, the Tea Board of Kenya said in statement.
Pakistan bought 18.9 million kilograms of the leaves, Egypt purchased 16.9 million kilograms, while the U.K. bought 11.8 million kilograms, according to data e-mailed by the Tea Board yesterday. Afghanistan and Sudan bought 9 million and 4.5 million kilograms of tea, respectively.
Despite dry weather in January, the world’s biggest exporter of black tea produced 36.2 million kilograms that month from 35.9 million kilograms last year. Production fell 31 percent to 18.41 million kilograms in February from a year earlier, the Tea Board of Kenya said April 2.
In January and February, the volume of leaves sold at weekly auction in Mombasa increased to 48.9 million kilograms from 43.4 million kilograms a year earlier. The average tea price was $2.92 a kilogram. Domestic consumption of tea stagnated at 2.9 million kilograms this year.
To contact the reporter on this story: Githua Kihara in Mombasa via Nairobi at
pmrichardson@bloomberg.net.
