NAIROBI, Feb 23: Kenya tea prices were mixed, thanks to varying quality and increased demand from Pakistani buyers, dealers said on Wednesday.

African Tea Brokers (ATB) said that Pakistan bought more tea this week compared with the last auction, when most of its retail buyers stayed away.

Many of its buyers had boycotted the auction after Kenya failed to reduce a 75 per cent tariff imposed on Pakistani rice when the East African Customs Union took effect on January 1.

The buyers were concerned that Pakistan was going to retaliate by raising its tariff on Kenyan tea from 10 per cent to 75 per cent. Pakistan is the biggest buyer of Kenyan tea. Last year it accounted for $132.8 million out of the $548 million that Kenya earned from tea exports.

Kenyan authorities have agreed to temporarily reduce the tariff to the level it was before January. "The duty rate for Pakistan rice imports will remain at 35 per cent until March 15 2005. An extraordinary meeting of the East Africa Community (EAC) Council of Ministers will be held as soon as possible to review the 75 per cent duty on rice imports into EAC member countries," the ATB said.

Brighter Broken Pekoe Ones (BP1s) fetched varying prices, with some of the top grades climbing by up to $0.11 and others falling by up to $0.23, African Tea Brokers (ATB) said.

Top and bottom prices for Brighter Best BP1s ranged between $0.04 lower and $0.06 higher than at the last auction. They fetched between $2.06 and $3.06 per kg compared with $2.10 and $3 at the last auction.

The prices of the Brighter Best Broken Pekoe Fannings Ones (PF1s) grades ranged from unchanged to $0.03 higher compared with last week's auction. They ranged between $1.83 and $3.55 compared with last week's $1.83 and $3.52. A total of 122,074 packages were offered for sale, with 13,680 unsold. Last week 127,749 packages were offered. -Reuters