NAIROBI, Kenya, Sep 23 – Tea prices at the weekly Mombasa auction rose slightly this week amid an increase in the volumes traded.

At this week’s auction, a kilo averaged USD2.25(Sh271.35) up from USD2.24(Sh270.14) last week. 

The improved prices saw the total volumes traded at the auction increase by 271,269 kilos compared to the previous week.

“Good demand prevailed with prices irregularly closely following quality for the 185,248 packages (12,244,672.00 kilos) on offer, 123,280 packages (8,088,644.00 Kilos) were sold,” said East African Tea Trade Association (EATTA) managing director Edward Mudibo.

Despite the improved demand, 33.52 per cent of packages remained unsold similar to last week’s session.

In the week, Pakistan Packers, Yemen and other Middle Eastern countries lent strong support with more but selective interest from Afghanistan, Kazakhstan and other CIS states.Egyptian Packers maintained inquiry but at lower levels while UK, Sudan and Bazaar showed selective interest.

“Russia and Iran were quiet while Local Packers showed some activity. Somalia operated at steady rates at the lower end of the market,” said Mudibo.