Darjeeling tea gains, CTC, orthodox ease

The best and good liquoring brokens, Assams, however, were selling at dearer rates, and a selected line sold at attractive prices. Good Assam prices ranged between Rs 92 and Rs 102 per kg. The good Assams fannings which ruled between Rs 90 to Rs 100 per kg also showed a dearer trend. The medium sorts, however, ruled slightlylower from the previous levels.

CIS buyers and Brooke Bond operated very selectively with less inquiry forthcoming from the Delhi-Punjab buyers. Local and western Indian markets lent fair support for liquoring teas while those of Godfrey Philips operated selectively for bright liquoring lines. Fannings attracted some interest from the UK buyers.

Darjeeling sale with an offering of 6799 packages attracted good demand from domestic and overseas buyers. All sorts sold at better prices, particularly, the better quality line realised attractive rates. The continental buyers were active at higher levels. UK buyers lent selected inquiry for fannings while local dealers fairly opted for brokens grades. The highest rate in the sale was fetched by a line of Putabong FTGFOP-1 which was sold at Rs 885 per kg.

The orthodox sale no 26 wherein 20,637 packages were offered met with good demand at firm to easy levels. Among the different grades, tippy liquoring teas sold well at slightly higher rates while plain wholeleaf ruled steady.

The remaining whole leaf tended easy by Rs 5 to 10 per kg. Prices of whole leaf ruled between Rs 75 and Rs 100 per kg. In the brokens section, the liquoring sorts maintained earlier prices while the rest were lower by Rs 2 to Rs 3 per kg and sometimes more. Fannings also followed the same trend. Brokens and fannings ranged between Rs 73 and Rs 85 per kg.

Tippy and liquoring orthodox were consumed by continental buyers. Middle East and CIS buyers were also active at moderate levels. Some export inquiry also was there. The West Bengal buyers offered good support.

Good demand was also witnessed for dust teas offered this week which amounted to 10,744 packages. Of this about 85 per cent was consumed by the market improved liquoring lines and best Assam teas sold better at last levels. The rest of the Assam tended easy by Rs 2 to Rs 4 per kg and were selling between Rs 76 and Rs 100 a kg.

The Dooars grades eased further by Rs 4 to Rs 6 per kg with similar trends showing in secondaries.Prices of dooars ranged between Rs 64 and Rs 86 per kg. Brooke Bond offered selective buying support. Western India, West Bengal buyers and other domestic buyers lifted fair quantity of teas. Tata Tea was also was fairly active. There was selective export inquiry for liquoring PDs and larger dusts.

Guwahati sale

A discernible declining trend was witnessed in all categories offered in the Guwahati sale No 27 held this week.

The CTC sale in the Guwahati auction met with fair demand with 75 per cent of offering amounting to 79,356 packages being consumed by the market. The selected better liquoring varieties fell by Rs 2 to Rs 3 per kg. The remaining teas particularly brokens and fannings closed lower by Rs 4 to Rs 5 per kg. There was some Cachar teas in the sale and this was also lowered by Rs 5 per kg from the past levels.

Brooke Bond once again remained subdued along with other packeteers and offered less inquiry in the sale. Among the other internal buyers Western Indian markets were fairlyactive and lifted moderate amount of teas.

Dust sale also met with fair general demand. In this section, 38,925 packages were put up for sale and about 85 per cent was sold. All round easy trend in prices was witnessed in the dust section. Good and better liquoring Assam teas sold at lower rates by Rs 3 to Rs 4 per kg with secondaries sliding further in line with the quality. The primary dust in the remaining Assam also staged lower by Rs 4 to Rs 6 per kg and occasionally more, especially for non-liquoring varieties.

Brooke Bond remained less active while Tata Tea and other prominent packeteers were active in operation. Western India buyers who lifted liquoring dusts and other domestic buyers also offered good support in the sale.

Bangladesh market

The sale No 8, resumed this week, saw a restricted demand for an offering of about 30,000 packages. Bold and large brokens were well absorbed at slightly easier rates and sold at Taka 63 to Taka 66 per kg. All other brokens saw a sharp fall betweenTaka 5 to Taka 7 per kg at the opening. But as the sale progressed the market staged a recovery by Taka 10 per kg and quoted at Taka 45 to Taka 63 per kg and suffered heavy withdrawals. Bold and large brokens however, were sold at Taka 64.50 and Taka 66.00 per kg.

Fannings also ruled easy by Taka 8 to Taka 10 per kg in the face of restricted enquiry and a large quantity remained unsold. This variety ranged between Taka 52 to Taka 66 per kg. The dust also registered a weak market with heavy quantity and saw a withdrawal. Good liquoring types eased by Taka 5 per kg while other teas were mostly neglected and discounted by Taka 10 per kg. The prices of this category quoted between Taka 55 to Taka 100 per kg.

The overall export inquiry was with Afghanistan. Pakistan offered limited support followed by the Russian and other CIS countries. Among the overseas markets, Poland absorbed a fair quantity in the sale. The domestic buyers also took limited interest.