Shall I put the kettle on?
One of the defining characteristics of Britain that is often mentioned by visitors from abroad, apart from our obsession with the weather, is our national love of a good cup of tea. Even with the influx of trendy coffee chains like Starbucks, Café Nero and Coffee Republic that have taken over many of our high streets, they are still not close to rivalling the supremacy of the English cuppa.
Reports now show that the price of tea has fallen considerably, to the point where it now costs approximately a penny a cup. This is a quarter of what it cost thirty years ago and has been attributed to global overproduction, a weak dollar and supermarkets fiercely competing with each other. Whilst this may be good news when you go down to buy a packet of PG tips or Twining’s Earl Grey, it does have repercussions on the producers of tea.
Tea is often grown in some of the poorest countries in the world and provides local people with a chance to earn money and support their families. In Uganda, for example, it is the third-largest export and it appears that in many countries more and more people are planting tea to earn a living leading to excess supply on the markets and a fall in prices. I shall be in Uganda next month.
It is a difficult situation for many who rely on tea for their livelihood and it is something to bear in mind whenever we hear the immortal words “Shall I put the kettle on?”.