The Hindu Business Line : Poor quality pulls down Coonoor tea prices

BUYERS continued to complain of low quality when a huge volume of 12.55 lakh kg of tea was offered for sale at the auctions conducted by the Coonoor Tea trade Association (CTTA) here.

``Almost 60 per cent of the dust category teas were withdrawn for want of bids matching the offered teas and asked prices. Some 20 per cent of the leaf grades went unsold.

Poland picked up the teas for some Rs 2 a kg down at Rs 34. CIS, Kenya and Iraq also bought for Rs 2 down at Rs 35 to Rs 37 levels.

Hindustan Lever Ltd. bought actively the good liquoring leaf grades. But, in the dusts counter, it initially bought better and medium sorts for exports principally to Kenya, but soon dropped out of the market as the sale progressed.

Some others supported the teas for the Kenyan market, while Poland showed selective interest to the plainer sorts dust grades.

"Among the CTC brokens, the good liquoring leafy grades were dearer up to Rs 5 a kg, while other brokens Rs 2. Clean black leafy CTC brokens and fannings got up to Rs 3 a kg more. But the plainer ones lost up to Rs 2 a kg,'' noted the market report of the Joint Brokers.

Upcountry buyers for Maharashtra, Punjab and Gujarat markets said that they could not pay more and pick up larger volume because of a general decline quality. Consequently, of the 12.55 lakh kg offered for sale, only some 40,000 kg could be sold for over Rs 60 a kg.

On an average, then plain dust grades were sold for Rs 33 a kg, while the better ones, Rs 38. Plain leaf grades fetched Rs 32, while the better ones, Rs 38.

The market report has announced that for the next auctions, a still higher volume of 13.41 lakh kg comprising 8.97 lakh kg of leaf and 4.44 lakh kg of dusts has been catalogued.

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