Bangladesh tea prices rise

Tea prices in Bangladesh rose nearly 8 percent at a weekly auction on Tuesday, buoyed by robust demand for quality leaf, while sales increased despite a higher volume on offer.

Bangladeshi tea fetched an average 204.41 taka ($2.50) per kg, compared with 189.62 taka in the previous sale, the National Brokers said.

There was robust demand for quality tea and buyers were ready to pay premiums, which helped prices and sales volume to rally despite higher supplies than the previous week, a senior official of the National Brokers said.

About 23 percent of the 1.41 million kg offered at the sole auction centre in Chittagong remained unsold. In the previous auction, 28 percent of the 1.37 million kg on offer were unsold.

Bangladesh's tea output in 2016 rose by nearly 27 percent from a year earlier to a record 85 million kg, a harvest that may be big enough to make imports unnecessary.            

The south Asian country was the world's fifth-largest tea exporter in the 1990s, but has now become a net importer due to a surge in domestic consumption.

Bangladeshi buyers have imported tea in bulk from India, Thailand and Malaysia, contributing to a glut in the domestic market and reducing demand at auctions, industry insiders said.

Following are the results of the latest auction (figures in Bangladesh taka per kg):

BROKENS

Bold/Large Brokens                   180-190

Medium Brokens                       185-200

Small Brokens                        190-210

Plain Brokens                        145-165

FANNINGS

Best Fannings                        220-230

Good Fannings                        205-215

Medium Fannings                      185-200

Plain Fannings                       145-165

DUST

Pekoe Dust                           not quoted

Red Dust                             160-268

Dust                                 160-264

Churamoni Dust                       180-275