Tea prices set to increase on lower production! Dry spell hits Assam, Bengal tea output

http://www.business-standard.com/article/markets/tea-prices-set-to-increase-on-lower-production-114060500764_1.html

Tea prices set to increase on lower production
Poor rainfall hits Assam, Bengal tea output

BS Reporter  |  Kolkata  June 5, 2014 Last Updated at 22:34 IST

Adverse weather conditions in north India (Assam and north Bengal) are likely to result in a sharp rise in tea prices, the Indian Tea Association (ITA) on Thursday.

In April, all producing districts in the Assam valley had recorded a 40 per cent fall in production compared to a year earlier; for May, the decline was 30 per cent.

“This could translate into an overall decline in the north Indian crop by about 16 million kg in April and 14 million kg in May, an unprecedented decline of 30 million kg in two months, compared to the corresponding period of 2013. The estimates are based on ITA members’ crops; if other estates and bought leaf factories/small growers are taken into account, the shortfall might stand at 50 million kg,” said a release issued by the association.

Also, there has been a rise in the cost of field and factory inputs. The impact is clear—-production costs will increase, and so will prices. “The impending wage revision, effective from April 2014 in the north Bengal tea sector, will further increase the cost of production. Further deterioration in conditions could jeopardise the viability of many estates in Assam and north Bengal,” ITA said.

“This kind of a shortfall in the months of April and May hasn’t been seen in a long time. The market will react; prices need to do better,” said Aditya Khaitan, managing director of McLeod Russel. Represent-atives from the sector said at the auctions here this week, the quantities were low and prices were higher by Rs 15-18 a kg.

Till March, all tea districts, barring Darjeeling and Terai, had registered an increase in the crop. Subsequently, when rains were imperative, the situation deteriorated. ITA is apprehensive it will be difficult to make up for the decline in the crop, as the threat of the El Niño is looming large. More, domestic demand has been growing at three per cent every year. “It is likely the demand for replenishment of tea will increase in the coming months,” ITA said.

The situation in south India, too, isn’t very different. Officials of the United Planters’ Association of South India said in April, the crop had fallen by 3.7-4 four million kg.

Dry spell hits Assam, Bengal tea output

http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/markets/commodities/dry-spell-hits-assam-bengal-tea-output/article6086075.ece

Considerable good news for any BULLS who are lurking.

stevenapple wrote:Considerable good news for any BULLS who are lurking.

Yes. What about Bigger picture?Tea and tea related plantation group is number one value sector in the CSE.

Anyone is reading about the volume of tea production & its contribution to world market from African continent. In the past I have read that severe drought, social unrest & warring caused heavily the supply capacity of tea which shoot up world market prices. Well, If both regions are under same conditions time is to make hay while sun shines.

worthiness wrote:Anyone is reading about the volume of tea production & its contribution to world market from African continent. In the past I have read that severe drought, social unrest & warring caused heavily the supply capacity of tea which shoot up world market prices. Well, If both regions are under same conditions time is to make hay while sun shines.

What is the most serious long-term challenge facing the tea sector in Kenya and other African countries? It is a climate change. Rainfall patterns have proved increasingly erratic over the past decade in East Africa. There could be different types of threat to their industry such as drought, frost threats and hail threats followed by pest attacks. Pest attacks have been reported even in Assam region time to time. In addition the current major areas of production in Kenya will become less suitable for tea production by 2020. Time to time their drought cycle should repeat. Normally after two to three years of good periods Kenya is experiencing drought situation. FARMERS in Narok County in Kenya have been asked to insure their livestock and crops against diseases and weather fluctuations. The long rains that were expected in March and April have failed so their tea output too should come down when compare with last year. Global tea inventory level should go down in the coming months. We can reasonably expect buoyant tea prices in the coming months. Definitely Tea producers are going to benefit. We have to wait and see. Finally there is a good demand for tea as long as they maintain quality. Global consumers have started to identify high quality nature and health benefits of pure tea coming from higher elevations and mountains now.

http://www.hngn.com/articles/33144/20140606/drink-tea-keep-breast-cancer-bay-study.htm

Drink Tea to Keep Breast Cancer at Bay: Stud

http://thechronicleherald.ca/travel/1209569-canada-steeped-in-tea-tradition

Canada steeped in tea tradition

Luxurious afternoon ritual enchants at places like Victoria’s venerable Empress

Forget coffee. Tea is the new black.

And we’re not talking about your average cuppa — think bigger, fancier, with finger sandwiches.

The British tradition of afternoon tea is a lingering and luxurious affair, still popular three centuries after a noblewoman started the trend because she got the growlies in the late afternoon.

Legend has it that Anna Maria Stanhope, Duchess of Bedford, had servants sneak a pot of tea and some snacks up to her room each day. Eventually she started inviting friends to join her and the event morphed into a regular social occasion.

Since then, high-end hotels and specialty tea shops around the world have been offering up the afternoon ritual in a range of prices and decadence.

Not to be confused with high tea — which is more of a meal, served in the early evening — afternoon tea begins with a selection of the drink transported in elegant pots that endlessly fill cups daintily clinking on top of saucers.

Towering in the middle of the table is the main attraction: a tiered stand piled high with scones to smother with preserves and clotted cream, tiny crustless sandwiches (there’s usually at least one stuffed with cucumbers), and rich pastries and desserts.

Most venues recommend customers set aside at least 90 minutes for sipping, nibbling and chatting away.

Tea and food aside, it’s the entire experience of afternoon tea that’s the draw, says Anne Marie Vivani, owner of the Savoy Room in St. Catharines, Ont.

Three years ago, Vivani opened her tea room — all it serves is afternoon tea — and has noticed a steady increase in customers. She thinks more people want what she calls “Old World charm.”

Brett Patterson is a Toronto executive with Fairmont Hotels and Resorts, which has offered afternoon tea at many of its locations for decades. He says he has also seen a recent resurgence in the tradition.

“We’re going back to a lot of things in life, going back to older things … It’s all coming back.”

The British period TV drama Downton Abbey has spawned at-home tea parties and special events at some tea houses. So have non-fiction royal visits. Prince Charles and Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, visited Canada this week, with stops in Prince Edward Island, Manitoba and Nova Scotia.

Of course, the mother of all afternoon tea times seems to be Mother’s Day.

The popularity of the tradition is perhaps matched by a growing taste for tea itself.

Starbucks — the queen of coffee — said it all when it acquired a chain of tea stores in 2012 and, the following year, opened its first “tea bar” in New York.

Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada has even identified the tea trend, linking it to people’s growing interest in being healthy. Statistics Canada reports that Canadians drink about 10 billion cups of tea each year.

Fairmont’s Empress Hotel in Victoria, perhaps the most renowned place to sit down for afternoon tea in Canada, serves about 100,000 people annually. It started its daily event in 1908.

In Edmonton, the Fairmont Hotel Macdonald serves a common twist on afternoon tea, called royal tea. It basically adds alcohol to the menu, typically a glass of sherry or Champagne. The hotel even throws in a tour of its royal suite, where the Queen stayed in 2005.

For those who want to include their wee ones, Fairmont offers afternoon tea in the form of a teddy bear picnic at its Chateau Lake Louise in Alberta. At the company’s Vancouver hotel, children are encouraged to dress up like their favourite fairy-tale characters and get special bubble gum tea with peanut butter and jelly finger sandwiches.

Other locations of note that offer afternoon tea include the historic Windsor Arms Hotel in Toronto, Mademoiselle Clifford’s Tea Room in Hudson, Que., and Grandma’s Tea Room in Charlottetown