Tea price rises as tea demand exceeds supply 15 04 2009 - 03:48:13 PM

The price of a cup of tea is likely to get more expensive. Figures just released by the Office for National Statistics show the price of tea has already increased by 2.5% in February this year. Poor tea crops as well as the falling value of the pound are to blame for the rising prices.

Tea consumption reached 3.85m tonnes last year, 4.8% higher than 2007. However, according to the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), droughts hitting Kenya, Sri Lanka and India, which account for half of the world’s tea exports, are creating a shortfall in production.

The Tea Board of Kenya estimates Kenya, Africa’s largest grower of tea, will produce 328 million kg of tea crop this year, which is well below the 345 million kg produced last year. Traders are concerned the tea production gap will get larger causing prices to sky rocket.

The UK, as the second-biggest importer of tea in the world will either have to absorb the higher cost of the raw materials or pass them on to consumers. Factoring in food inflation, which is higher in Britain than anywhere else in Europe, the price of milk and sugar will make the increased price of a cup of tea even worse.

With demand growing, we’ll continue to work with the most popular brands and experienced tea traders around the world to bring you the finest tasting tea selection available  for you to enjoy during your working day.
Click here to find out more about tea (http://www.tea.co.uk/ or http://myflavia.co.uk/drinks/tea/).