[Photo/courtesy]Tea producers are facing gloomy times with earnings forecast to drop significantly in the financial year ending June, according to the Tea Directorate.Sector report from the directorate indicates that the volumes are expected to be lower in the coming months, informed by the prolonged dry weather.“Going by the current production trend and the fact that most parts of the country are expected to receive depressed long rainfall according to the weather forecast, lower production is expected to be recorded throughout the year,” the report said.It indicates production for the month of April decreased to 31.45 million kilos compared with 37.91 million kilos recorded in the corresponding month of 2016.Tea farmers affiliated to Kenya Tea Development Authority (KTDA) earned a record Sh84 billion in the last financial year—making it the second year of improved earnings—helped by a stable exchange rate and high prices of the commodity in the world market.The earnings were Sh21 billion more than previous season when the KTDA recorded sales of Sh63 billion.KTDA indicated last year that the outlook for 2017/2018 was not promising as a result of low prices that were being witnessed at the auction.Tea production for 2017 is expected to drop by 11 per cent due to the effects of drought that has cut volumes coming in from the farms.Agriculture and Food Authority (AFA) says production of green leaf will drop from 473 million kilos produced in 2016 to about 420 million kilos this year.The price is, however, expected to improve during the period as a result of the decline in production.Tea Production for 2016 reached an all-time high of 473 million kilos, which was 18.4 per cent higher compared with 399 million kilogrammes recorded in 2015.

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