Kenya's tea production hurt by erratic weather

worker tastes tea samples in Kenya

NAIROBI, June 15 (Xinhua) -- Kenya's tea production in the first three months to March dropped, hurt by adverse weather conditions, the Tea Directorate said Tuesday.

The agency noted that adverse weather conditions that include depressed and irregular rains, as well as lengthy sunny and dry conditions in many growing areas cut production by more than 5 million kg in the first quarter of this year.

"Cumulative production for the first quarter was lower by 5.15 million kilos to stand at 135.83 million kilos, a decrease from 140.98 million kilos in a similar period in 2021. This was notably due to depressed rains," said the government agency in a report.

The directorate warned that Kenya's overall tea production is likely to fall this year due to the challenging weather conditions.

Kenya is among countries in the Horn of Africa battling drought alongside other adverse weather conditions, with 4.1 million people currently at the risk of starvation.