Bangladesh tea prices fall, but demand for quality leaf caps slide

Thursday, 13 August 2015 00:00 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

Reuters: Tea prices in Bangladesh fell for a fourth straight session at the weekly auction on Tuesday as volumes hit the highest in the season so far, but demand for quality leaf capped the slide.

Bangladeshi tea fetched an average 192.10 taka ($ 2.5) per kg at the 14th auction of the current marketing season, down from 194.35 taka at the previous sale last week, an executive with National Brokers said.

There was strong demand for quality tea that limited the fall in prices and sales were higher despite the latest offering being the largest of the season so far, the executive said.

About 1.82 million kg were offered at the sole auction centre in Chittagong, of which 6% was unsold. In the previous auction, about 6% of the 1.78 million kg offered went unsold.

The national budget for the 2015/16 fiscal year that started in July raised the regulatory duty on tea imports by 5% to discourage overseas buying.

Tea prices fell sharply in the last marketing season on poor demand from local buyers because of the damage to business sentiment caused by renewed political unrest early this year that left more than 120 people dead and disrupted supplies.

The country, however, has moved from being a net exporter to a net importer of tea because of rising consumption.