Bangladesh tea prices drop at auction on poor quality

Friday, 18 November 2016 00:00 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

DHAKA (Reuters) - Tea prices in Bangladesh fell about 1.6% at the weekly auction on Tuesday due to lower demand for inferior quality leaf, but a fall in supplies capped a steeper decline.

Bangladesh tea fetched an average of 192.82 taka ($2.50) per kg at the auction, down from 195.94 taka in the previous sale.

Demand from local buyers was poor although supplies were lower than last week, but that included a higher%age of low-grade leaf for which buyers wanted heavy discounts that led to a drop in prices, a senior official at National Brokers said.

However, there was strong demand for quality tea which was in short supply, the official said.

About 23.7% of the 2.79 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, the highest so far this season, remained unsold.

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