China's spring tea output dropped drastically due to early spring snow and cold fronts that affected the tea-growing areas, an official with the Ministry of Agriculture said Wednesday in Hangzhou.

Wang Shoucong, deputy director of the Plantation Department of the ministry, said at a National Tea Production Conference, which ended Wednesday, that the spring tea output of 17 provinces fell by 3 percent to 383,000 tons this year, or 12,000 tons less than in the previous year, despite that the tea-cultivating acreage grew by 3 percent to 1.2 million hectares.

Low temperatures and frost in early spring, especially the cold fronts in mid-March that affected the majority of the Yangtze River area, were ascribed to the low tea output, according to the official.

Meanwhile, the purchase price for spring tea rose 10 percent because of a strong market demand. The improved tea processing techniques and packages are also a factor in pushing up the prices, he said.

He forecast that the spring tea output, which make up about 45 percent of the country's total tea output, will reach 11.43 billion yuan (1.38 billion US dollars) this year, representing an increase of 5.4 percent over 2004.

Source: Xinhua