Coonoor tea trade association’s earnings till July up 5.16%

The easing of lockdown in many States has helped The Nilgiris tea producers and traders to fetch better prices.

Till July, producers and traders who operated through the auctions of Coonoor Tea Trade Association (CTTA) have earned ₹17.39 crore or 5.16 per cent more than in January-July 2019.

This became possible because of sharp increase in prices although the volume sold declined, reveals an analysis of the market reports.

Because of lockdown, some auctions had to be dropped. Hence, the volume sold this year fell to 3.43 crore kg from 3.57 crore kg in January-July 2019.

The easing of lockdown in Maharashtra, Gujarat, Punjab and Rajasthan has helped traders there places orders for tea.

However, the floods in Assam, West Bengal and Kerala have affected the transport of tea from the factories and warehouses in these states to the market places.

Besides, due to adverse weather and lockdown restrictions, the production of tea in the North Indian plantations has fallen. So, the traders in upcountry markets sourced their teas from South and discovered that they were able to procure quality teas from The Nilgiris at affordable prices.

Consequently, the demand for tea at CTTA auctions had increased in the past one month. Till July, each kg fetched an average price of ₹103.27 against ₹ 94.15 in January-July 2019.

Because the price rose by ₹8.90 per kg despite the volume sold falling by 14 lakh kg, the overall earnings in the seven months rose to ₹354.22 crore from ₹336.83 crore in January-July 2019.

This increase of ₹17.39 marked a growth of 5.15 per cent.