The price of tea produced in Tanzania and Uganda grew marginally over the first nine months of 2025, defying an overall slump at the regional auction in Mombasa that hit other producers, including Rwanda, Kenya, and Burundi.
Updated data by the auction manager, the East Africa Tea Traders Association, showed that the average price of Tanzania’s tea sold at the auction climbed to $1.17 in the first nine months of 2025, compared to $0.77 in a similar window of 2024.
Uganda’s tea also had a good run over the eight months of 2025, climbing to $1.03 from $0.81 in a similar window of 2024.
Contrastingly, the average price of tea from Kenya, Rwanda, and Burundi slumped over the first nine months of 20252025 amid overall subdued demand from buyers, which is likely to trim farmers’ earnings this year.
Analysis showed that Burundi was the hardest hit by the slump, with the average price of its tea settling at $1.65 a kilo over the first nine months of 2025, compared to $1.72 over a similar period last year—translating to a 4.07 percent drop, which is the sharpest at the auction.
This came as the overall average price of tea sold at the Mombasa auction over the first nine months of this year dipped to $2.03, compared to $2.05 in 2024—an equivalent of a 0.9 percent drop.
The average price of Kenyan tea sold at the auction in the first nine months of 2025 fell marginally to $2.11, compared to $2.17 in a similar window of 2024—marking a 2.76 percent drop.
The average price of tea from Rwanda stood at $2.83 over the first nine months of 2025, compared to $2.85 in a similar period, marking a 0.34percent drop.
Trade at the Mombasa tea auction has been hit by a sustained pile-up of unsold tea over the last two years amid subdued demand for the black tea sold there.
For example, only 18.14percent of the 7.14million kilos of tea on offer during this week’s auction was bought, with notable interest by buyers from Pakistan, Yemen, and other Middle Eastern countries, even though there was less enquiry from Afghanistan, Kazakhstan, and other Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) countries.
Traders at the Mombasa auction are under pressure to diversify into niche varieties of specialty tea, such as purple and white tea, as oversupply of the traditional black tea and the effects of variable weather conditions have taken a toll.
Specialty tea fetches premium returns for farmers amid growing demand for its health benefits. Unlike black tea, purple tea is not fermented in processing and contains anthocyanin and other substances, which some experts say have health benefits.
The Mombasa auction last week traded its first batch of specialty orthodox tea in a scheme aimed at curbing the falling earnings from dealing in traditional cutting- tear- and- curl (CTC) tea.
Orthodox tea is made or processed using a traditional method, which includes plucking, withering, rolling, oxidation, and drying. Orthodox beverages that include white and purple teas are expensive because of the limited volumes produced in the country against high demand globally.
“Today, Mombasa becomes the first country in Africa to sell orthodox tea, and we cannot ignore the reality that the global tea market has changed. CTC teas, our traditional mainstay, now face flat demand and depressed prices at the Mombasa Auction, and our more than 650,000 tea farmers cannot earn to their expectations if we continue to sell our teas in sacks,” Agriculture Cabinet Secretary Mutahi Kagwe said when officiating at the launch of trade in orthodox tea.
Growers affiliated with the Kenya Tea Development Agency (KTDA) have already felt the impact of subdued demand on quality concerns and a strong shilling.
Tea from the East of Rift, Kiambu fetched $2.87 per kilo, a drop of $0.35 from last year. Murang’a earned $2.9, down by $0.32; Nyeri earned $3, down by $0.32; Kirinyaga earned $3.09, down by $0.29; Embu earned $3.12, down by $0.26; and Meru earned $2.94, down by $0.35.
In the West of Rift, Kericho earned $1.89, a drop of $0.78; Bomet earned $1.61, a drop of $0.65; Nyamira earned $2.05, a reduction of $0.82; Kisii got $1.9, a drop of $0.73, and Nandi /Vihiga earned $1.6, a drop of $1.28.
KTDA blamed the dip in earnings to farmers this year on a strong Kenyan shilling against the US dollar and poor tea quality from certain regions.
In 2024, the Kenyan shilling traded at an average of Sh144 to the US dollar, while in 2025 the average was Sh129.
This weaker exchange rate meant that even where international prices were stable, the amount realised in Kenyan Shillings was significantly lower.
The agency said that the differences in the second payment between East and West of the Rift were due to quality factors, market dynamics, and costs, further reducing net earnings.
