Tea prices in Bangladesh fell for a second straight session at the weekly auction on Tuesday as the volumes offered were the highest for the season so far, but strong demand for quality leaf capped the slide and sales rose.
Bangladeshi tea fetched an average 198.80 taka ($2.5) per kg at the auction, the twelfth of the new marketing season, compared with 198.97 taka at the previous sale on July 14, an executive with National Brokers said.
There was strong demand for quality tea that limited the fall and sales also rose, although the latest offering was the largest of the season so far, the executive said.
About 1.7 million kg was offered at the sole auction centre in Chittagong, of which nearly 2 percent was unsold. In the previous auction, about 2 percent of the 1.27 million kg offered was unsold.
The auction took place after a gap of one week due to Eid al-Fitr holidays, marking the end of Ramadan.
The national budget for the 2015/16 fiscal year unveiled last month raised regulatory duty on tea imports by 5 percent to discourage overseas buying.
Tea prices dropped sharply in the last marketing season on poor demand from local buyers because of damage to business sentiment caused by renewed political unrest early this year that left more than 120 people dead and disrupted supplies.
The country, however, has moved from being a net exporter to a net importer of tea because of rising consumption.
Following are the results of the latest auction (figures in Bangladesh taka per kg):
BROKENS
Bold/Large Brokens 195-200
Medium Brokens 197-202
Small Brokens 197-202
Plain Brokens 175-180
FANNINGS
Best Fannings 198-201
Good Fannings 195-197
Medium Fannings 90-193
Plain Fannings 175-180
DUST
Pekoe Dust not quoted
Red Dust 185-220
Dust 185-228
Churamoni Dust 190-249
-Reuters
