Sale 6 of the auctions of Coonoor Tea Trade Association (CTTA) set a new price record in the history of both the CTTA and the Coonoor-based bought leaf factory, Homedale Tea Factory.

Homedale’s Broken Pekoe grade, auctioned by Global Tea Brokers, was bought by Vora Sons for ₹377 a kg, a price unheard of at CTTA auctions in the recent past.

“This is the highest price our product has fetched since manufacturing started in our factory 71 years ago,” Homedale Managing Partner Raman A Menon told Business Line . “This surpasses our earlier factory record of ₹321 fetched in 2018.”

Likewise, Homedale’s Red Dust grade, auctioned by Global Tea Brokers, topped the Dust tea auctions when Jain Tea Corporation bought it for ₹366 a kg.

“This is the second highest price we have fetched since manufacturing commenced in our factory in 1949,” Raman Menon noted. Homedale Pekoe Dust grade, auctioned by Global Tea Brokers, followed at ₹317.

These three grades were the only teas, orthodox or CTC from any factory, bought leaf or corporate, which exceeded the ₹300/kg mark at this week’s auctions. It means Homedale and GTB beat their own previous record for 2020 of ₹313 created last week.

Last year, CTTA honoured Homedale Tea Factory’s partners Raman Menon and Prashant Menon, GTB’s Managing Director Rajesh Gupta and the buyer Oswal Tea Traders’ proprietor Harish Baradia for fetching the highest price of the year. But that time, the price was ₹301 while it is ₹377 and ₹366 now.

The average price at the auction was only ₹81 a kg. Homedale Factory’s top price was more than four times that amount.

The highest price fetched by orthodox teas from corporate sector was ₹256 a kg by Kairbetta. Glendale got ₹216, and Nonsuch orthodox ₹211.

Overall, teas worth ₹4.83 crore remained unsold as there were no takers for about 40 per cent of the offer because of weak demand from upcountry buyers and exporters.

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