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P.S. Sundar

Coonoor , June 23

THE second largest volume, so far, for the year — 18.22 lakh kg — has been catalogued for the Coonoor Tea Trade Association (CTTA) tea auctions this week.

Considering the huge volume, auctioneers said the auctions could go on till late night or spill over to Saturday. This volume is close to the highest level — 18.42 lakh kg — offered last week.

Of the 18.22 lakh kg, about 12.48 lakh kg belong to the leaf category, 7.74 lakh kg dust category, and 16.79 lakh kg of the CTC variety. Only, 1.43 lakh kg are orthodox teas.

It is this low proportion of orthodox teas that forces the small-scale sector, dominating the CTTA auctions, to dismiss the latest subsidy announced by the Centre to promote the manufacture of orthodox teas as irrelevant. For the bulk of the CTC teas, only the market forces have to fetch remunerative returns.

Of late, the producers have been complaining that the demand is quite inadequate to absorb the volume on offer. Week after week, prices have been registering new lows. Last week some lines were sold for the lowest price of the year — Rs 23 a kg.

The average price for a kg, which was at least Rs 6 more than last year's until a month ago, is now only Rs 2.12 more. The average price, so far, for the year is Rs 42.10. But orthodox teas have been fetching higher prices, with an average of Rs 55.23 a kg (Rs 47.09 last year). CTC teas have posted an average of Rs 41.06 a kg (Rs 38.85).

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