Kenyan growers behind half of Britain's black tea supply say climate shocks are crushing incomes

A major supplier of Britain's black tea market says climate-related disruptions are cutting harvests and driving prices up.

Here's what to know

Kenya supplies roughly half of Britain's black tea, according to The Independent, but farmers in the country's western tea-growing regions say increasingly erratic weather is making the work harder and less profitable.

In the tea-growing areas of Kericho and Bomet, farmers say conditions have veered from rain during normally dry periods to unusual heat, storms, and drought.

Nelson Ngeno, who manages Fintea, said production across their five cooperatives dropped by 30% in May and June compared to typical harvest levels.

"Climate is really affecting our farmers," Ngeno said. "There has been a complete change as far as the weather is concerned."

Thousands of tea plants were damaged in Kabartegan during a hailstorm in January. Smallholder farmer Lilian Mutai Levin Langot told the Press Association (PA): "It was scary. The hailstones hit everything. On the tea plants, only the stems remained."

More background

As extreme weather disasters grow more severe, they threaten both lives and livelihoods by wiping out crops, reducing income, and making it harder for families to afford essentials such as food, health care, school fees, and stable housing.

Langot said the storm left her without a harvest and forced her to take out a loan.

Another farmer, Paul Kipsigei Koech of Chepchabas, told PA that he earns just 3,000 to 4,000 Kenyan shillings a month and can provide only a single daily meal of mushed-up maize for his wife, seven children, and elderly father. 

"It is not enough. It is very scarce," he said. "There is no breakfast. No lunch."

Growers say they have seen little benefit from higher global tea prices. Instead, they describe a supply chain in which middlemen, brokers, and large companies take much of the profit, while farmers are left carrying the burden of extreme weather and rising costs.

What's being done?

Fintea said the share of tea it sells on Fairtrade terms has fallen from about 5% to under 1%, according to The Independent. That decline has reduced the "premium payments" cooperatives can use for climate resilience efforts and social projects.

Fairtrade is urging more businesses to buy tea on Fairtrade terms. Lidl has said it will buy more tea from Fintea under Fairtrade terms and add extra funding to help raise farmer incomes through a new tea called "Way To Go!" Fintea said that could increase its Fairtrade share to around 2.6%.

Kerrina Thorogood, partnerships director at the Fairtrade Foundation, said: "Today, just one in five tea farmers in Kenya earns enough income each month to support their families with the essentials. As a result, many struggle to invest in their farms, adapt to climate change, and plan for the future. Addressing this challenge requires businesses to take responsibility for the prices they pay."

Where can I learn more?

For a broader look at how climate shocks are hitting crops, farm incomes, and tea supplies, these stories cover weather-driven losses worldwide, as well as threats to food production and grocery staples.

• In Kenya, unpredictable weather destroys key crops and leaves once-prosperous farmers reeling.

• In India, extreme weather devastates crops during one of tea's hardest years.

• Across Japan, record temperatures devastated matcha production, pushing prices sharply higher.

• Farmers warn that extreme weather devastates crops, threatening livelihoods and widening food insecurity.

• Experts say substantial impacts on grocery staples are coming from shocks across global farms.

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