Tea volume auctioned on a downward spiral
Business
By
Boniface Gikandi
| Sep 08, 2025
The volume of tea traded at the Mombasa Tea Auction dropped by 32.5 million kilos between January and June 2025 compared to the same period in 2024.
East African Tea Trade Association (EATTA) Managing Director George Omuga said that in 2025, the auction received less volume of tea compared to what it received in 2024.
"Although the volumes have reduced, I hope the situation will improve and invite more buyers into the market," said Omuga.
According to an August report by Tea Brokers East African Limited (TBEAL), the seven countries that traded at the auction only offered 247.5 million kilos for sale for the first six months of 2025 compared to 279 million kilos offered in the same period in 2024.
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During the duration, Kenya sold 203.3 million kilos to 78 buyers out of the 80 who participated in the auction. Global Tea was the biggest buyer of the teas offered at the auction.
The firm bought a total of 31.7 million kilos, including 27.1 million kilos from Kenyan tea producers, among them factories under the Kenya Tea Development Agency (KTDA).
TBEAL's report shows that KTDA-owned Chai Trading bought 26.8 million kilos of leaves offered at the sale.
"Kenya tea attracted the highest demand by the buyers, except for two companies, Silfred Global and Blu Kik, that were interested in Ugandan tea," read part of the report.
In the six months, Uganda sold 24.4 million kilos, Tanzania 2.7 million kilos, Rwanda 15.8 million kilos, Burundi 875,944 kilos, Malawi 736,752 kilos while Mozambique sold 45,329 kilos.
The buyers who made the fewest purchases were Grove Unique (2,400 kg), Amastrar Company (3,900 kg), Agape (4,600 kg) and Blu Kik (4,800 kg).
The Tea Board of Kenya (TBK) CEO Willy Mutai, in a report dated August 11, detailed that in the same period, Kenyan tea producers exported 274.6 million kilos of tea to 53 international markets, with Pakistan leading with an import of 97.3 million kgs.
"Other lead buyers were Egypt with 37.2 million kgs, the United Kingdom with 20.7 million kgs, and the UAE with 13.3 million kgs," said Mutai.