The Hindu Business Line : Offers limited at Guwahati, Siliguri tea sales

Kolkata March 16 A limited quantity of end season teas were on offer at Guwahati and Siliguri auctions this week. The demand was good though the prices were irregular following quality. The loose tea sector of the domestic market was active; however, the major packeteers were selective. Due to paucity of offerings, no sale was held at Kolkata.

MARKET PROSPECTS:

A late start to the new season is anticipated, with the un-seasonal low temperatures that are prevailing in the growing regions. The new season arrivals at all three centres in North India are well behind those in the corresponding period in the previous year.

This year at Kolkata Sale 14, which is traditionally the first sale where new season teas are offered, the arrivals were approximately 3,000 packages compared with approx. 8,500 packages in Sale 14 in 2006. At Siliguri, till last Friday, only 1,314 packages of new season teas were received.

In the corresponding sale of the previous season, the sale closed with a total of 22,344 packages. At Guwahati, in Sale 14 only 3,636 packages of new season teas were on offer as compared to 9,545 packages for the corresponding sale in the previous season.

World Scene

Reports received from Sri Lanka for the February '07 markets suggest that prices stayed sky high with gains ranging between 32 and 62 per cent for Orthodox varieties and 19 per cent for CTC varieties, due to low sale quantities.

According to the provisional figures, the crop in Indonesia (PTP estates only) during the January-November 2006 period is reportedly lower by 16.1 m. kgs over the corresponding period in 2005.