Bangladesh tea prices drop at auction on poor quality

DHAKA: Tea prices in Bangladesh fell about 1.6 percent at the weekly auction on Tuesday due to lower demand for inferior quality leaf, but a fall in supplies capped a steeper decline.

Bangladesh tea fetched an average of 192.82 taka ($2.50) per kg at the auction, down from 195.94 taka in the previous sale.

Demand from local buyers was poor although supplies were lower than last week, but that included a higher percentage of low-grade leaf for which buyers wanted heavy discounts that led to a drop in prices, a senior official at National Brokers said.

However, there was strong demand for quality tea which was in short supply, the official said.

About 23.7 percent of the 2.79 million kg offered at the sole auction centre in Chittagong was unsold.

In the previous auction, about 24 percent of the 2.79 million kg on offer, the highest so far this season, remained unsold.

Bangladesh has become a net importer of tea from a net exporter earlier due to rising consumption.