Tea Prices To Rise

From this source:

The price of tea in the Middle East is expected to rise in the coming months, according to experts of the Dubai Tea Trading Center (DTTC).

In a statement released recently, DTTC said the price hike stemmed from a drop in tea harvest following droughts in the growing countries and the drop in the use of fertilizers in 2008, due to their increasing price as a result of the rise in oil prices.

Three countries--India, Sri Lanka and Kenya--account for 60% of the global production of tea. All three suffered weather problems, and fertilizer prices went up in all three countries because of the sudden increase in the price of oil. Tea production dropped about 20% in each of these countries.

Consumers all over the world will be pinched by this price rise. Not only is tea popular all over the world, recently many health experts and gurus have been lauding the health properties of tea, increasing its appeal a notch higher.

Fortunately, tea in sealed storage containers can stay fresh a very long time. People reading the news here can prepare for the coming price spike by buying a year's supply in advance. For the most part tea is quite affordable, so putting away a good supply of tea is a proposition within the economic reach of most people. Special precautions are probably not necessary. Kept in a cool, dry place for a long time does not harm the taste of most tea.