The Hindu Business Line : ‘Tea shipments through Amingaon likely to continue till March’

Tea shipments through the Amingaon (Guwahati) inland container depot (ICD) will continue till March, in keeping with the trend observed last year, according to various agencies involved in shipments. Till a couple of years ago, the shipments used to come to an end in end January/early February. The ICD shipments will continue till March because many buyers would like to stagger their buying according to the market demand, instead of taking delivery early and spending on warehousing. A leading tea exporter says he has still two million kg to export in the next two months.

Marginally higher

The size of the ICD shipment this year, according to tea industry sources, will not be less than last year’s throughput of about 2,600 TEUs. The throughput could be even marginally higher this year than that in 2006-07, it is pointed out. This will happen because the supply from Kenya has become uncertain in view of the disturbed condition there. In Sri Lanka too, the situation, it is reported, is not all that favourable due to many reasons. Also, the prices of Sri Lankan teas, mostly orthodox, are high.

However, the shipping lines and the railways, which are the partners in ICD shipments, do not share the same kind of optimism. In their opinion, the shipments this year could be a little less than last year as is evident from the trend so far – 2,139 TEUs till the end of January this year as compared to 2,371 TEUs in the same period of last year. The country’s overall exports are less than last year for various reasons – lower production, high domestic demand and appreciation of the rupee vis-À-vis US dollar.

Another interesting feature of this year’s ICD shipment has been the rise in shipments to non-UK/Continent destinations – 1,189 TEUs so far. Last year, total shipments to non-UK ports were 1,330 TEUs.

With some of the major blenders such as Unilever having set up its blending facility in Jebel Ali, large quantities of tea which would otherwise have gone to the UK/Continent are now first going to the UAE for blending.

Meanwhile, the movement out of Amingaon ICD so far this year are 2,064 TEUs of domestic rakes and 654 TEUs of Kolkata-bound rakes, according to Concor sources.