High Cliff bought a leaf tea factory located in a small hamlet called Kengarai in Nilgiris district. This, once again, created a record by fetching all-time high prices for its two grades of orthodox teas at Sale No: 31 of the auctions at Coonoor Tea Trade Association.

“Both are orthodox speciality grades were bought by Nisha Enterprises for ₹400/kg each, for export to the US,” Ravichandran Broos, General Manager of Paramount Tea Marketing, who auctioned these teas, told BusinessLine.

“This was the highest price .. not only in Coonoor auction but in the entire South India this week -- orthodox or CTC, from any factory, corporate or small-scale,” he said.

“High Cliff factory had fetched same record-price for two other orthodox grades earlier. In the past few weeks, many factories have been fetching impressive prices, encouraged by such record prices”, said Broos, on the occasion of 31st Founder’s Day celebrations of Paramount group, on Monday.

“We manufactured these teas for ‘The Golden Leaf India Award: Southern Tea Competition’, an initiative of Tea Board and UPASI in which we bagged two coveted titles,” said B Rajesh Chander , Managing Director, High Cliff.

“This is the highest price fetched by any of our teas since manufacturing started in 1984 in Hittakkal group to which High Cliff belongs,” he said. “This year, we have converted High Cliff factory into an exclusive orthodox tea manufacturing unit and we are glad that within seven months we could create new price records in South Indian regular auctions.”

In the CTC market, Homedale Estate’s Red Dust grade, auctioned by Global Tea Brokers, topped when Tea Service India Pvt Ltd. bought it for ₹306 a kg – the only CTC tea to enter ₹300/kg bracket.

In the CTC Leaf auction, Cross Hill Estate’s two grades, auctioned by Global Tea Brokers, topped when Nisha Enterprises bought them for ₹290 and ₹286 per kg.

“This has created a new price record for us because these are the highest prices fetched by any of our teas in a regular auction ever since manufacturing started in our factory in 1945,” said Dr Jagdeep Raju, Director, Cross Hill Tea Factory in Aravenu, now celebrating Platinum Jubilee.

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