Malawi’s Benchmark Tea Price Jumps 15% Amid Improved Demand, Manager Says

The benchmark price of tea in Malawi, Africa’s largest producer of the crop after Kenya, jumped 15 percent at auction amid improved demand, according to Tea Brokers Central Africa, which manages the country’s sales.

The leaf rose to $2.48 a kilogram (2.2 pounds) from $2.15 at the previous auction, Tea Brokers said in an e-mailed report today. Since January, 4.6 million kilograms of tea have been sold at an average price of $1.63, compared with 5.8 million kilograms at a price of $1.71 last year, it said.

Tea is Malawi’s second-largest foreign exchange earner, after tobacco, generating 8 percent of total export earnings. The U.K. is typically the largest buyer of tea from Malawi.

To contact the reporter on this story: Frank Jomo in Blantyre at fjomo@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Alastair Reed at areed12@bloomberg.net