Low quality teas and alleged mismanagement have left the Mombasa Tea Auction with over 100 million kilos, placing the world’s second-largest market for black tea in the worst position yet – way above the 40 million-kilo minimum stock required in the stable international tea market.

The business continues to grapple with tea stocks, driven by the high volumes of the commodity carried over from previous years, reaching three times more above international requirements. 

Over 119 million kilos were rolled over to this year. This is the first time Mombasa, which is the second-largest black tea auction centre in the world after Colombo in Sri Lanka, is rolling over huge volumes of tea, with traders and government blaming market mismanagement and cartels in the industry.

Kenya’s Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua recently accused the management of the Kenya Tea Development Agency (KTDA), which handles more than 90 per cent of traded tea, of misappropriating farmers’ funds with little to show as output.

Mr Gachagua said audits had revealed that the management is not doing enough to ensure farmers get good prices and dividends from the cash crop, despite the government spending billions on subsidising farm inputs.