Bangladesh tea prices edge up at weekly auction

DHAKA, Jan 27 (Reuters) – Tea prices in Bangladesh edged higher at the weekly auction on Tuesday amid strong demand for quality grade despite higher supplies.

Bangladeshi tea fetched an average 194.27 taka ($2.44) per kg at the 37th auction of this marketing season, up from 193.72 taka in the previous sale, an executive at National Brokers said.

About 2.13 million kg were offered at the sole auction centre in the port city of Chittagong, of which 30 percent went unsold. In the previous auction, about 23 percent of the 2.03 million kg offered was unsold.

Demand was strong although supplies were higher than last week’s but that included a higher percentage of low-grade leaf, leaving a larger volume of tea unsold, the executive said.

Demand for tea in Bangladesh usually rises during the winter.

The national budget for the 2015/16 fiscal year, which began in July, raised the regulatory duty on tea imports by 5 percent to discourage overseas buying.

Tea prices fell sharply in the last marketing season due to weak demand from local buyers, as business sentiment was hit by
renewed political unrest early this year that left more than 120 people dead and disrupted supplies.

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

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

BROKENS
 Bold/Large Brokens                   170-185
 Medium Brokens                       175-185
 Small Brokens                        180-193
 Plain Brokens                        110-120

FANNINGS
 Best Fannings                        202-205
 Good Fannings                        195-201
 Medium Fannings                      174-185
 Plain Fannings                       115-125

DUST
 Pekoe Dust                           208-230
 Red Dust                             170-219
 Dust                                 150-238
 Churamoni Dust                       145-233

($1 = 77.7300 taka)