By Nicholas Waitathu
Sales at the tea auction in Mombasa increased to 84% during the months of July, August and September 2025 following high demand of the beverage, as compared to 51% during a similar period in 2024.
East Africa Tea Trade Association (EATTA) Managing Director George Omuga, says: “We have witnessed an increase in volumes traded and prices as well this year. This followed removal of the tea reserve price that had been set by the Government in 2021 crop year. Equally, following key interventions by value chai players, quality of tea offered for sale improved tremendously.”
Following a downward trend of tea prices at Mombasa auction in 2021, former Uhuru Kenyatta administration established a minimum reserve price of $2.6 and $2.4 for teas from the East and West of the Rift respectively. The creation of a minimum reserve price at US$2.43 was set in June 2021 as part of stabilizing the market.
By then tea prices at the Mombasa tea auction had declined to below US$2 per kg. The set reserve price was a response to taming the high cost of production which had been accelerated by electricity and labour to more than $2.43. Government while suspending the reserve price, expressed concern over the surplus of tea disrupting market dynamics in both the East and West of the Rift Valley.
Last year, Tea Board of Kenya (TBK) said that by July 2023 stock of unpurchased tea had reached over 100 million kilogrammes.
“The Mombasa Tea Auction has remained a major centre for global tea prices determination and has remained relatively stable than the previous year in volumes offered and price discovery.
“KTDA East of Rift Valley and Rwanda have realised the highest average prices to date at $2.98 and 2.92 respectively. The volumes sold to date through the auction stand at 410 million Kg compared to 445million Kgs for the year 2024 due to reduced backlog of old tea stocks. Quality of tea offered in the auction remains a major price determination factor ceteris paribus,” said Omuga during a national tea stakeholders forum at a hotel in Nairobi.
EATTA chairman Abdi Hussein Current said the African tea industry has seen remarkable advancements, with Kenya standing as the world’s leading exporter of black tea.
“Technological innovations in farming, including precision agriculture and sustainable practices, have boosted yields and improved quality. Enhanced logistics and supply chain management have also improved efficiency, facilitating faster access to global markets.
“Despite these advancements, several challenges persist. Climate change poses significant risks, disrupting weather patterns essential for tea production. Legislative and regulatory hurdles continue to act as bottlenecks for the sector.
“Additionally, fluctuating global prices and rising production costs squeeze farmers’ incomes, particularly smallholders who form the backbone of our industry and often lack access to financing and technical support. We also face increasing competition from other tea-producing nations and changing consumer preferences toward specialty teas,” said Hussein.
The organization is mobilizing value chain actors to fast track opening of new markets, for example, Nigeria and Ghana as well as protecting traditional markets.
Fair trade representative head of region Agagpeters Kubasu said for tea to gain premium prices internationally farmers need to voluntarily seek certification.
“As a certification organization we have so far certified over 330,000 smallholder tea farmers in the country. They have managed to improve quality and thus benefiting from premium prices in the international market,” said Kubasu.