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Record frost severely damaging Kenya's tea crop

NAIROBI: Severe frost continues to cause widespread damage in Kenya's key tea growing areas of Nandi and Sotik and has forced some factories to close, African Tea Brokers (ATB) said on Friday.

"Severe frost...causing widespread damage in the fields and destroying crops by as much as 70-75 percent in some areas has resulted in the closing down of some factories," ATB said in a statement. "Crop levels are now in sharp decline."

ATB said the frost was the worst "for many years" and had, to a lesser extent, affected other main growing areas like Kericho and Limuru.

Hot, dry weather and desiccating easterly winds have also hurt production levels west of the Rift Valley by compounding moisture loss, ATB said.

"Without rain, recovery will be very slow," ATB said. "Crop levels have dropped away sharply and this will be reflected in forthcoming auction offerings."

Drought in early 1999 pushed tea production levels substantially lower than in 1998, a bumper year boosted by the El Nino weather phenomenon. However better than anticipated growth towards the end of the year had raised hopes the worst was over.

The total Kenyan tea crop for 1999 was 248,818,018 kg, 15.42 percent lower than in 1998 but about two million kg better than had been anticipated. Crop levels for December measured 27,184,741 kg, a 2.53 percent increase from the same month in 1998.

Erratic weather conditions have hampered tea growth in Malawi as storms and hot weather take their toll on the crop.

"Without the normal cloud cover, some leaf scorching is taking place and has affected yields," ATB said.-Reuters