TEA NEWS #tea market news

• According to the Mombasa Tea Auction Market Report, in the auction number 28, which took place on July 12, 2021, the volumes of tea sold by KTDA managed factories dropped by 89 percent compared to auction 27, which attained an absorption rate of eight percent of offered teas. • The report indicated that the average price improved by 25 percent from Sh221.31 per kg to Sh278.81 per kg for the specific gardens that sold. This is a growth of Sh56 per kg.

Tea plucking machines leave thousands jobless

India has raised concerns at the European Union’s decision to classify dye-making chemical anthraquinone as a pesticide, calling it a non-tariff barrier that has hit tea exports to the trade bloc. The government has asked the EU to share the scientific basis for setting the maximum residue level for imported tea, its sampling and testing methodology, and the international standards on which such assessment is based.

More than half the consignment of green leaf supplied at the Mombasa tea auction remained unsold last week following the setting of a reserve price by KTDA. Termed as a bold step to assure a consistent and better returns to farmers by the new management at the Kenya Tea Development Agency (KTDA), the move has taken off to a false start with buyers shunning the high reservation price.

The Kenya Tea Development Agency (KTDA) has set the minimum reserve price for processed tea at the Mombasa auction in an unprecedented move aimed at cushioning smallholder farmers.

GOOD DEMAND AT IRREGULAR RATES BP1 : East KTDA easier 5/28 cts with selected lines firm to dearer 2/4 cts, Coloury and good leaf West KTDA firm to dearer 2/6cts, others easier 2/10cts Nandi dearer 6/12 cts, Limuru and Kericho firm to dearer 2/16 cts, Uganda steady to easier 2/5 cts. PF1 : East KTDA dearer 4/12 cts, West KTDA dearer 2/10 cts, Nandi dearer 4/16 cts, selected Limuru and Kericho dearer 2/4 cts others easier 2/10 cts, selected Uganda firm to dearer 2/10 cts others easier 2/8 cts. IMPROVED DEMAND AT IRREGULAR RATES PD : East KTDA dearer 4/10 cts, West KTDA dearer 2/6 cts. Nandi firm, Limuru firm to 2 cts dearer. Kericho irregularly firm. Uganda firm to 5 cts dearer. D1 : East KTDA dearer up to 10 cts, West firm to 2 cts dearer. Nandi and Limuru barely steady to 3cts easier Kericho firm. Uganda dearer 2/6 cts. SELECTIVE DEMAND PF : Limuru easier 10 cts, Kericho easier 5/10 cts, Uganda firm to dearer 8 cts. FNGS : East KTDA irregularly easier 10/20 cts to dearer 4/6 cts on selected types, West KTDA mostly easier 5/10 cts, Nandi irregularly dearer 30cts, Limuru firm, Kericho easier 5/8 cts, Uganda firm to dearer 4 cts. Dust : East KTDA dearer 2/8, West KTDA easier 6/10 cts, Limuru dearer 4 cts, Kericho irregularly dearer 4/6 cts with poor leaf types easier 5 cts, Uganda dearer 5 cts.

A kilo averaged $1.65 in the recent trading. In Summary •Prices have been affected by oversupply with top 10 tea exporting countries being China, India, Kenya, Sri Lanka, Turkey, Indonesia, Vietnam, Japan, Iran and Argentina. •The commodity has averaged $1.80 (Sh194.31) so far this year at the Mombasa Tea Auction.

The long awaited auction for tea, one of the country's traditional export crops,is set for a take off. Launching of the facility later this year is among the strategies underway to boost the production of tea for the export market.

• The payment will be combined with the Green leaf supply for the month of June 2021. • Ichoho urged respective factory boards to fast track the signing of the mini bonus payment resolutions assisted by the respective factory managers.

Stakeholders Want Cost Of Operations In Tea Sector Reduced

farmers oppose arrival of tea plucking machines

The enactment of the Tea Act 2020 is a key milestone in the reforms agenda. The Act provides a raft of regulatory mechanisms for ensuring order, transparency and accountability in the tea value chain.