The Hindu Business Line : Coonoor tea prices hit new lows

WITH the huge volume of 18.43 lakh kgs on offer - the highest volume so far for the year - and the demand continued to remain sluggish, tea prices at the auctions of the Coonoor Tea Trade Association (CTTA) here dipped to fresh lows.

Some lines were knocked off for Rs 23 a kg - the lowest for the year. The bottomline prices had been slipping to new lows week after week with too much teas chasing the buyers inside and outside the auction hall.

This week, the withdrawals were rather lower than the previous week and around 45 per cent of the offer remained unsold.

The improved offtake was because of the producers agreeing to dispose of the stocks even at low bids. Besides, Tata Tea re-entered the market after a prolonged silence and it bought some plainer brokens such as BP, BOP and BPS for the West Asian market. The buyers for Pakistan also activated the purchase of clean black teas, but lowered their prices by Rs 3 a kg to Rs 37. Some shippers for CIS and Poland picked up SBOP and Pekoes for around Rs 34.

On the corporate buying front, Hindustan Lever Ltd bought some better medium grades. Western Indian buyers were keen to pick some of the bright liquoring quality teas for Rs 62 a kilo.

Among the high-price earners, Darmona Estate topped the CTC teas of the bought-leaf factories with Rs 82 a kg. Hittakkal Estate came a distant second at Rs 63.

Auctioneers said they could push off brokens and fannings only when they lowered the acceptance by Rs 2 a kg. Orthodox primary dust grades could not be sold and there were heavy withdrawals. The secondaries and the powdery dusts eased in price by Rs 3.

Quotations held by the brokers indicated bids ranging from Rs 23-25 a kg for the plain dusts and Rs 59-64 for the bright liquoring grades. The plain leaf grades carried bids from Rs 24-27, while the bright liquoring ones, Rs 56-63.

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