The cost of a cuppa has been pushed up as tea prices hit a two-and-a-half year high.
Prices for tea from Kenya, the world’s biggest exporter of black tea, climbed to $3.76/kg at the beginning of July, up 24 per cent on the month before and 49 per cent year-on-year. The last time the price was this high was January 2013.
According to Mintec drier than expected weather conditions at the start of the year affected the quality and quantity of Kenya’s crop.
As a result total tea production for the first four months of 2015 dropped 31 per cent, to 105.5 million kgs, compared to the same period last year.
Strong demand from major importers including Pakistan, Afghanistan and Egypt, combined with an increase in demand from Yemen, has put extra upward pressure on prices.