Tea prices drop in Kochi, Coonoor

Blenders and upcountry buyers’ decision to reduce stocks before the GST rollout on July 1 have hit tea prices at the Kochi auctions. The situation was no different in Coonoor, Tamil Nadu, as uncertainty over the impact of GST saw buyers take a wait-and-watch approach despite a fall in prices.

In Kochi, the CTC dust market opened ₹3 to ₹7 lower and sometimes more, besides witnessing heavy withdrawals in sale no 26. However, some select good liquoring teas witnessed a lower drop in prices as the sale progressed, while others continued the same trend. The quantity on offer was 12,81,500 kg.

Browner teas saw difficulties in sale and witnessed a lot of withdrawals. Lower demand persisted for medium and plainer teas, said the auctioneers Forbes, Ewart & Figgis. For orthodox dust, the market for primaries sold around last levels, while secondary teas were lower. The quantity on offer was 15,000 kg. Exporters continued to be the mainstay.

In the Cochin CTC dust quotation, good varieties fetched ₹105-134, mediums realised ₹72-119 and plain grades stood at ₹65-76.

In the leaf category, the market for select best Nilgiri brokens, whole leaf and Fannings in orthodox grades tended to ease.

Others were lower and witnessed lot of withdrawals. The quantity on offer was 2,35,500 kg.

Witnessing poor demand, the market for CTC leaf was lower by ₹3 to ₹5 and sometimes more. The quantity on offer was 73,000 kg. In the dust category, Surianalle SFD quoted the best price of ₹135 followed by Monica SFD at ₹134.

In leaf varieties, Chamraj FOP-S (Green Tea) came to the top, quoting ₹431, followed by Chamraj FOP at ₹265.

In Sale No: 26 of the auctions of the Coonoor Tea Trade Association (CTTA), held just before the rollout of GST on Friday, the average price crashed to a new low of ₹73.32 a kg — the lowest since October 30, 2015.

It marked a fall of as much as ₹4 per kg compared to last week. Nevertheless, buyers showed hesitation in bidding.

Consequently, only 12.71 lakh kg was sold — the lowest since May 5 — and as much as three lakh kg less than last week. Consequently, the overall realisation dropped to ₹9.32 crore — the lowest since April 21.

It also meant a drastic fall of ₹2.86 crore or 23.48 per cent in just one week.

“The market has been dropping for about two months now. The uncertainty caused by the GST rollout have added to the problem as buyers have taken a ‘wait and watch’ attitude on the eve of the GST rollout,” CTTA Chairman Ramesh Bhojarajan told Business Line .

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