Tea prices in Bangladesh inched down at the weekly auction on Tuesday as the volumes offered were the highest for the season so far, although sales rose on strong demand for quality leaf.
Bangladeshi tea fetched an average of 188.25 taka ($2.40) per kg at the auction, against 188.69 taka at the previous sale, an official at National Brokers Ltd said.
About 2.23 million kg was offered at the auction centre in Chittagong, with 24 percent remaining unsold. At the previous auction, around 2 million kg was offered, of which 30 percent went unsold.
The latest offering was the largest of the season so far, but strong demand from local buyers for quality tea capped the fall in prices and the sales volume rose, the official said.
Bangladesh’s tea production in 2013 rose 1.6 percent from a year earlier to a record 63.5 million kg due to favourable weather, but was still short of the domestic consumption of about 65 million kg.
In April this year, Bangladesh trebled regulatory duty to 15 percent on imports of tea to discourage overseas buying amid a drop in local prices due to ample supplies.
Bangladesh has moved from being a net exporter of tea to a net importer due to rising consumption.
Following are the results of the latest auction. Figures are in Bangladesh taka per kg.
BROKENS
Bold/Large Brokens 165-170
Medium Brokens 178-182
Small Brokens 185-195
Plain Brokens 125-140
FANNINGS
Best Fannings 197-200
Good Fannings 193-196
Medium Fannings 178-185
Plain Fannings 125-140
DUST
Pekoe Dust 173-178
Red Dust 162-226
Dust 170-207
Churamoni Dust 180-279
-Reuters
