Bloomberg.com By Ron Derby
African tea prices rose to a record $3.12 a kilogram (2.2 pounds) at the world’s largest auction of the leaves in Mombasa, Kenya, Africa Tea Brokers Ltd. said. Average prices of the top grade advanced 5.8 percent at the sale on Dec. 21 and 22, from $2.95 a week earlier, the broker said in an e-mailed statement today.
Kenyan tea output rose 4.1 percent in November from a year earlier, the Tea Board of Kenya said. Output for the month brought cumulative production in the first 11 months of the year to 278 million kilograms, or 9 percent less than a year earlier, Managing Director Sicily Kariuki said today.
Production was lower because of prolonged drought in the country, Kariuki said. The Mombasa auction sells tea from most African producers, excluding South Africa and those in West Africa. Kenya accounts for about 70 percent of the volumes sold.
