THE average price for top Kenyan tea, the world’s leading black tea exporter, rose marginally to $3.53 per kg at this week’s sale, from $3.50 kg last week traders said on Tuesday.Tea is the top foreign exchange earner for east Africa’s largest economy and earned it 109 billion shillings ($1.3 billion) in 2011.Africa Tea Brokers (ATB) said Best Broken Pekoe Ones TEABP1-BEST-KE sold at between $3.86-$3.20 per kg compared with $3.79-$3.20 at the previous sale.It said 89,290 packages or 5.7 million kilos were offered for sale, compared with last week’s auction of 90,721 packages, with 21.6 percent left unsold.Brighter Pekoe Fanning Ones (PF1s) TEAPF1-BEST-KE fetched $3.46-$3.32 from $3.70-$3.34 per kg last week.ATB said Pakistan Packers lent strong support in the auction with maintained activity from Egypt, Yemen and other Middle Eastern countries packers.
