The rise in future offerings in Kochi auctions has hit tea prices, leading to a subdued demand from Kerala buyers.

This has brought down the prices and the market for select best teas in sale 19 was lower by ₹2-5 a kg. The remainder depreciated by ₹5-10 and sometimes more. It also witnessed lot of withdrawals, the auctioneers Forbes, Ewart & Figgis said.

However, trade circles attributed the subdued buying of Kerala State Civil Supplies Corporation (Supplyco) in the last two trade sessions for dragging down the prices. It is pointed out that the State-owned company was active in the market after resuming the auctions in April that had made a significant reflection in price realisation. But the company has now started procuring large quantities of tea from Tamil Nadu that had resulted in the price drop in Kochi, trade circles said.

Countering the charges, Supplyco officials said they have reduced the procurement from Kochi due to space constraints in their godowns. The company has enough stock, but the shortage of packaging materials for their branded teas is posing a problem for blending. Once the stock is cleared, the company will start procuring more from Kochi. The company has procured only packed tea from Indcoserve, the tea cooperative federation, to include it in the Covid relief kits, the officials added.

Meanwhile, the quantity offered in CTC dust was 9.72 lakh kg, while major blenders supported good liquoring teas. Export enquiry was limited. The average price realised was lower at ₹111.89 a kg compared to the previous week’s rate of ₹114.31.

The orthodox dust market was also lower by ₹2-3 and witnessed lot of withdrawals. Exporters absorbed a small quantity sold.

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