• Next tea eAuction scheduled for 16 April

If the first ever online auction of tea created history last Saturday, then bidding for best of flavour and quality on offer on a Poya day yesterday was unprecedented in the annals of Sri Lanka’s tea industry.

The vying for best on offer of tippy and leafy teas gathered momentum yesterday as the Colombo auction via the electronic platform entered its fourth consecutive day.

A tea industry veteran said he cannot recall an auction on a poya holiday in the history but thanks to the electronic platform this was possible though the trade’s eagerness to clear the backlog of tea following the suspension of traditional auctions for past two weeks as part of COVID-19 mitigation was another reason.

Encouraged by the pioneering success, the Colombo Tea Traders Association and the Colombo Brokers Association have decided to hold the next eAuction on 16 April after the conclusion of holidays connected to Easter and Sinhala-Tamil New Year.

Dilmah founder welcomes tea eAuction