UK tea drinkers warned about tea price rise
The price of tea in the UK may go up by as much as 7% next year, if an anticipated drought in Kenya wipes out a sizable amount of the crop. The droughts that have affected over 13 million people across this part of Africa have also devastated export crops like tea. According to an analyst from the market research firm Mintec, tea prices had resisted the recent turmoil in global commodities markets, but they are bound to be affected by droughts in tea-producing countries and rising demand. There are hopes that increased production in China and India may offset some of the price rise. Tea drinkers in the UK consume 165 million cups per day, or 62 billion per year. Kenya supplies over half of the UK's tea.