Tea prices surge as poor weather hits crops

We’re battling with drought again, and tea prices have risen dramatically during the first quarter of this year due to low crops in Sri Lanka and Kenya (the world’s 3rd and 4th largest producers).
The outlook has been poor too for the new season in Assam, north-east India, the world’s largest tea producing region. Access to credit for some of the producers have meant that less fertiliser has been applied which has, in turn, reduced the crop… bit of a cycle here. The producers in these key areas need some rain to get production back on track. The key as always is the arrival of the “long rains” in Kenya, which are later than the number 26 bus I used to catch to school, but fingers-crossed.