The international tea brand was the biggest buyer of Kenyan teas as well.
Lipton bought 60m kg of tea over the past year, lesser than 61.3m kg that it bought in 2008. Kenya's drought and adverse weather conditions affected the 2009 sales.
Kenya's production fell 11 per cent in the first ten months of 2009, but the auction prices remained the same throughout the year.
Tea prices rose to record highs in 2009, reaching $3.18 per kilo in early December auctions, compared to $2.38 during the same period in 2008.
Prices are expected to level off in 2010 as production output increases globally.
