Global tea prices increase

What you need to know:

The Bank of Tanzania (BoT) monthly economic review for May has shown the average price for tea has increased to $3.1 per kg on April 2018 from $2.8 on April 2017. At the same time tea prices at Mombasa auction increased by 12.7 per cent to $2.8 on March this year from $2.5 on the preceding year.

Dar es Salaam. Annual world commodity prices for tea have increased by 9.6 per cent in the year ending April 2018 compared to that of the same month in the preceding year, a new report has shown.

The Bank of Tanzania (BoT) monthly economic review for May has shown the average price for tea has increased to $3.1 per kg on April 2018 from $2.8 on April 2017. At the same time tea prices at Mombasa auction increased by 12.7 per cent to $2.8 on March this year from $2.5 on the preceding year.

“The price of tea increased due to strong global demand and low supply, following unfavourable weather conditions in major producing areas, which affect production” the report noted.

The Tea Board of Tanzania (TBT) report shows tea production decreased by 17.3 per cent from 32,628.6 tonnes in the year ended June 2016 to 26,975.4 tonnes in June 2017.

Mr Job Mwankanyi, a tea farmer at Kibisi in Rungwe District, Mbeya Region, said there was an improvement in prices since the start of the year.

“Prices of raw tea have increased to Sh315 per kilo this year from Sh287 in the previous year,” said Mr Mwankanyi who trades with Watco Company in Kikuyu.

Mr Job also said that due to bad weather production of tea had declined, noting that he used to get an average of nine to ten tonnes annually but he now harvests an average of eight tonnes.