Tea auction sales averages hit record on sharp decline in supply

• October notches highest ever monthly average price gain of Rs. 160.79 
• Monthly averages of all three elevations achieve record levels

Tea auction sales average prices have hit a record high in October, aided by a sharp decline in supply, Forbes and Walker Tea Brokers said.

It said the auction average for the month of October totalled Rs. 550.92 vis-à-vis Rs. 390.13 of October 2015 showing a substantial gain of Rs. 160.79 thus establishing the highest ever average for a calendar month. “This is the second consecutive month where this feat was achieved, the previous best being September 2016 when the average realised Rs. 512.03,” Forbes said.

All three elevations too have recorded the highest averages for a calendar month. High Growns totalling Rs. 523.88 have shown a gain of Rs. 117.02 vis-à-vis Rs. 406.86 of October 2015. Similarly, Mediums averaging Rs. 487.34 have shown a gain of Rs. 131.69 vis-à-vis Rs. 355.65 of October 2015. Low Growns with a substantial gain of Rs. 179.95 have recorded an average of Rs. 572.15 for October 2016 vis-à-vis Rs. 392.20 of October 2015.These levels are significantly higher than the corresponding month of 2015 even in USD terms. Further, these levels show a fairly significant gain over 2014 levels in LKR/USD terms.

Forbes said that in January to October 2016, cumulative auction average totalled Rs. 450.84 vis-à-vis Rs. 400.04 of January to October 2015, showing a gain of Rs. 50.80. High Growns totalling Rs. 433.37 have shown a gain of Rs. 47.69 vis-à-vis Rs. 385.68 of January to October 2015, while Medium Growns totalling Rs. 406.73 show a gain of Rs. 45.18 vis-à-vis Rs. 361.55 of January to October 2015. 

Similarly, Low Growns totalling Rs.467.76 for the period of January to October 2016 show a gain of Rs. 53.49 vis-à-vis Rs. 414.27 of January to October 2015. Here again these averages show a growth in USD terms, although not as significant as the gain achieved for the month. With the exception of the High Grown average, all other elevational averages have been lower when compared to 2014 cumulative averages.