The 70 tea processing factories last week sold 2,240,447 kilogrammes, through the Mombasa auction, as Imenti farmers achieved the highest sale of Sh349 per kilogramme.
In the weekly sale, the farmers sold the produce valued at Sh2 billion which was bought by local and international buyers.
In the sale,Imenti registered an increment as compared to that of the previous price of Sh332.
The second best price was offered to the Gathuthi factory at Sh342, as Kambaa tea factory produce traded at Sh341.
Ngere attained the fourth position followed by Rukiriri that fetched Sh 336.
In the sales analysis, Michimikuru in Meru presented the highest volume in the market of 113,976 kilogrammes of tea,earning Sh36.3 million followed by Motigo with 70,800 kilogrammes for Sh21,645,684.
Ngere tea factory registered the third best price of Sh6,391,950 for 49,560 kilogrammes of tea.
The volumes at the auction were absorbed by the 88 licensed buyers after delivery by 13 tea brokers.
Embu based Rukiriri tea factory sold 34,840 kilogrammes that achieved Sh336, while Kiru from 34,138 kilogramme managed Sh289.
This week, the tea directors from the smallholder factories managed by KTDA Management Service will be attending a week-long induction course that will enable them to understand the tea trade and enhance quality production.
KTDA Chairman Enos Njeru said the weekly sale was impressive based on the farmers’ production of quality green leaf in their farms.
“We have a mechanism that will ensure that the growers are encouraged on production of the quality green leaf,” said Njeru.
KTDA leadership, Njeru said, has initiated sensitization meetings for farmers in the West of Rift farmers to assist in the enhancing of quality green leaf..
“There is training in progress to ensure all the tea growers in east and west embrace quality in green leaf plucking,” said Njeru.
In the auction, factories that represented low production were Boito, Tirgaga and Ragati representing 12,880 kilogrammes, 10,496 kilogrammes and 9,440 kilogrammes respectively .
This week, from the catalogue provided Kenya farmers will present 9,359,422 kilogrammes of main grade and another 635,316 kilogrammes of secondary grade for the auction.
In the conversion 4.3 kilogramme of green leaf is converted to a kilogramme of made tea.
