Subdued demand post Diwali brought down tea prices at Coonoor auctions, recording a decline of ₹1-2 per kg for almost all qualities.
Traders said the market did not recover after the festival season as the sentiment was subdued. A good number of teas have been excluded from trade. Besides, the early onset of winter and lower night temperatures are likely to affect the overall harvest of tea gardens, which could affect auction arrivals in the coming weeks, they said.
The quantity offered in leaf category was 17,60,531 kg with a sales percentage of 75. In dust, the offers were 4,87,167 kg with a sales percentage of 82.
Unit value increasing
Rajesh Gupta, Managing Director, Global Tea Auctioneers, said exports from South India declined by 2.83 million kg in quantity and the value of exports declined by ₹0.42 crore. But the realized unit price increased slightly by ₹11.79 per kg due to shortage of teas in North India. Average auction prices in South India showed improvement in the first and second quarters, while the third quarter averages declined. This led to an erosion of profits made during the first months of 2023.
At auctions, high-priced CTC loose leaf teas were barely stable, sometimes even ₹3-4 more expensive. The higher alcohol varieties were ₹2-3 less with some withdrawals. The medium and simpler varieties were less in demand and sold at a lower price of ₹2-3 and a good quantity of teas were put on sale.
In the CTC dust, the more expensive and better quality liquor varieties were lower by ₹3-4 and above with some withdrawals.
The main orthodox dust grades were barely stable around the latest levels, sometimes a few lots were selling for ₹2-3 more easily.
