Bangladesh tea prices dip at auction on poor quality

Thursday, 24 November 2016 00:05 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

Reuters: Tea prices in Bangladesh fell about 2% at the weekly auction on Tuesday due to higher supplies of inferior grade leaf, but strong demand for quality leaf capped any further decline.

Bangladesh tea fetched an average of 188.84 taka ($2.50) per kg at the auction, down from 192.82 taka in the previous sale. Demand from local buyers was poor while supplies included a higher percentage of low-grade leaf for which buyers wanted heavy discounts that led to a drop both in prices and sales volume, a senior official at National Brokers said.However, there was strong demand for quality tea which was in short supply, the official said.

About 30.5% of the 2.7 million kg offered at the sole auction centre in Chittagong was unsold. In the previous auction, about 24% of the 2.79 million kg on offer remained unsold.

Bangladesh has become a net importer of tea from a net exporter earlier due to rising consumption.