The cumulative turnover at the auctions of Coonoor Tea Trade Association (CTTA) in the 11 months of this calendar has fallen by 20.65 per cent over the same period of 2013, reveals an analysis of market reports.

This happened because as much as a crore kg of tea could not be sold despite sacrificing about ₹18 a kg in average price. In the 11 months, 48 auctions had taken place when a volume of 5.40 crore kg was sold against 5.51 crore kg in the same period last year.

Due to adequate availability in the global market, exporters did not exert pressure here. Pakistan, a major buyer at Coonoor auctions, refrained from purchasing in the last few months. Political troubles at West Asia limited intakes from those regions. Collectively, the export demand was confined to plainer and low-price bracket teas throughout this calendar.

In the absence of export pressure, domestic traders were in no mood to bid high. The high-priced better liquoring teas suffered frequent low bids. On an average, some 35 per cent of the offer remained unsold week after week because buyers refused to bid more to match producers’ asking price. When producers lowered their asking price to liquidate unsold stocks, prices crashed to an average of ₹73.39 a kg from ₹90.64 in 2013.

This led the overall turnover to fall to ₹396.31 crore from ₹499.43 crore. This loss of ₹103.12 crore marked a decline of 20.65 per cent.

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