The prolonged drought situation in the country has affected tea production causing tea bushes to wither and dry out.

According to the Tea Growers Association, once the rain comes, it will take approximately 6 to 8 weeks for the crops to recover plus an additional cost to replace dried up bushes, a situation which is likely to affect the industrial performance for the year 2019.

Earlier this year, Kenya Tea Development Agency warned Farmers of low earnings this year following a decline of 17 % in the price of the beverage in the first half of the 2018/2019.

Kenya tea directorate also predicts that in 2019, the tea volumes will drop to 416 million kilos from the initial of 474 million kilos recorded in 2018.

The current drought situation in the country has prolonged
from October 2018 and is the longest one experienced.

Williamson Tea Kenya Plc and Kapchorua tea have already issued a profit alert indicating that its full-year earnings for the year ended March 2019 are expected to decline by at least 25 per cent.

The two firms cited unfavorable weather patterns as part of the reasons for the anticipated decrease in profit.