The Hindu Business Line : Tea Board allows manual bidding for dust category

The Board has, in a communication to the six auction centres - Kolkata, Siliguri, Guwahati, Kochi, Coonoor and Coimbatore - directed the organisers to ensure the sale of leaf category through electronic auction only, while allowing them to resort to manual bidding for the dust category until further order.

The clearance has come at a time when the catalogued quantity is on the rise. It is expected to touch a record volume of 19.6 lakh kg at the Coonoor centre this week.

Trade sources, while reiterating that they were not against the electronic system per se, said that the Board should have rectified the shortcomings in the system before compelling them to do only screen-based trades.

Market sources told Business Line that Coimbatore and Coonoor took the lead in routing the entire volumes under the e-auction platform, while the other four centres, to some extent, still continued with manual bidding.

"Despite complying with the Board's deadline in switching over to the electronic bidding process, the regulator (Tea Board) did not bother to lend ears to our appeal for switching over to conventional manual outcry method when we encountered some problem in the e-auction platform. Even now, the Board's clearance is not without restriction," the source said.

The Board, while acknowledging the problems faced by the brokers and auction buyers in the e-auction process and allowing the organisers to resort to manual bidding of dust category alone, has stated that "certain functionalities would be restricted at the auction centres with immediate effect to ensure smooth flow."

Meanwhile, the Tea Board Chairman. Mr N.K. Das, has sought the cooperation of the auction organisers, brokers and buyers:

To limit the upload and publishing of catalogues, upload of valuation and asking price by the brokers for e-auction to non-auction days;

To limit the upload of valuation, grouping and comments by the buyers to non-auction days;

Prevent buyers from viewing the published catalogues while an auction is in progress;

Set `auto-bids' on the published catalogue during lunch-break in the e-auction or on the floor during the conduct of the auction for lots that are on the open page;

Restrict users from viewing the auction result when an e-auction is in progress.

The Board has said that a process would be in place at each centre for displaying the auction result on the projector screen for the benefit of the buyers, who wished to refer to the auction result. They will also be able to refer to the results at the end of the auction, the note added.

Trade sources allege that the restrictions imposed by the Board blocked free movement and infringed on their rights, particularly in disallowing buyers to view the screen when the e-auction is under way.

Sources feel that the Board should suspend the e-auction until the vendors set right the errors in the system. "Since there is no uniformity in our bidding platform, the views could be biased," they said.

It is learnt that the CCTA (Coonoor Tea Trade Association) is trying to persuade the Tea Board to grant permission for manual bidding of the leaf category too.

Article E-Mail :: Comment :: Syndication :: Printer Friendly Page

Stories in this Section
Chances of El Nino event recede further

Poovan prices may take a hit

Spot rubber rules steady

34 lt sugar released for July-Sept quarter

Tea Board allows manual bidding for dust category

Jay Shree Tea may buy Singbuli, Balasona estates

Coir body wants Kerala to provide level playing field

Kerala co-op bank plans to disburse Rs 500 cr this year