The Hindu Business Line : Snag hits Coonoor tea auction again

FREQUENT disruptions were witnessed again at the Coonoor tea auctions on Thursday. Trouble surfaced an hour or so after trading began, when the buyers, according to market sources, put up a stiff resistance to take the manual bidding process, despite the Board allowing them to do so.

"It is difficult to cope with disruption in the trade process and frequent switchover from the electronic mode to the conventional outcry method. Buyers have to come prepared to handle the situation and it invariably results in a buyer being accompanied by a tech-savvy assistant," said market sources.

They said the prices tended to firm up when the bidding went manual. "Outstation buyers cannot bid when the system conks out."

Connectivity snags, sources say, is compelling traders to shift business to other centres. Volumes, which used to peak at Coonoor, have declined in recent weeks, indicating the shift.

At the weekly auction, of the 10 lakh kg catalogued, sources say fresh teas were about 7 lakh kg and the rest, rolled over from the previous sale.