by Dan Robertson

Difficult weather conditions have again brought challenges to several of the world’s tea production centers. In China, many key tea areas have experienced critical rain shortfalls and others have been affected by the bite of lingering cold temperatures.

In Jiangsu province, as a result of late frost with chilling rain, the new season’s tender shoots were damaged and began to wither on the bush. Some estimates have the early spring production at a 50 percent deficit. Due to the reduced availability, prices have already risen up to 25 percent from the same time last year, and may continue to rise.

Scenic Hangzhou, famous for its production of Dragon Well (aka Long Jing) green tea, has suffered the coldest early spring weather in 10 years, according to the local tea manufacturer’s association. Thirty percent of the gardens in the West Lake area were affected, and farmers will have to endure significant losses, said tea merchant Paul Luo.

Spring picking was delayed in some places by at least 10 days. In the past, gardens that are relatively lower in altitude have been affected by frost, while those in the mountainous elevations are hurt by snowfall. This year’s weather brought both. Some bush varietals, such as No. 43, are expected to reduce their yield by 20 percent. The first batch of West Lake Dragon Well tea was flown to Beijing on March 23rd, a week later than last year. Early sales have already reached record high levels.

By March 15th in Jiangxi province, spring tea markets saw only a trickle of new offerings. Delayed picking has resulted in a reported 10 percent increase in wholesale costs in that area.

Perhaps the worst-ravaged area is the Southwestern province of Yunnan, home of puer tea. Plagued with the worst drought in 50 to 100 years by some accounts, and resulting shortages of new leaf, wholesale prices have risen sharply. The characteristically earthy puer tea, popular for its purported health benefits, is no stranger to inflated prices, and again premium grades and average grades alike have seen price jumps in the range of 10 percent in one week.

Spring tea production in Yunnan is down more than 50 percent, said Zhang Cheng of Yunnan Tea Garden Group. He added that 266,000 hectares (657,300 acres) have been affected, and about 14,000 hectares (34 594 acres) have completely dried up.
The drought has persisted since November of last year, despite human intervention with irrigation efforts. Many rivers and reservoirs have gone dry, according to news reports. Without a water supply, livestock and villagers are in a desperate state. Some elementary schools have closed. One head of cabbage a week is all that sustains some families in remote areas. Those who can assist are encouraged to do so, and city dwellers make weekend trips to bring water to those in need in the countryside.

In Northern Fujian, the cold spell attacked new growth, affecting black tea production. Even the prices for the already precious high grade black teas have gone up around 30 percent on the wholesale market.

By contrast, there is positive news to report from Southern Fujian province. Spring crop of the oolong tea Tie Guan Yin (aka Iron Goddess of Mercy) promises to be one of the best in five years. A light spring drizzle followed by abundant sun and favorable temperatures has prices trending up 15 to 30 percent. A Xi tea department predicts that the typical Spring tea output of 10,000 tons may spike to 18,000, even 20,000 tons.

Tie Guan Yin, which has been steadily growing in popularity over recent years, may be seeing a further sales boost due to the drought in Jiangxi, Yunnan, Zhejiang and Northern Fujian provinces. Customers switching from teas produced in the affected areas to Tie Guan Yin will create greater demand and thus opportunity for higher prices.

As buyers across China and dealers all over the world are clambering for supply, all in the industry must prepare to dig a little deeper this season.