Low demand, poor quality affect Darjeeling tea

The best Assams, however, remained barely steady with a slightly lower trend. Medium and better medium Assams witnessed strong activity and were quoted lower by Re 1 per kg to Rs 2 per kg. Brooke Bond restrained their buying on selective grades while western India buyers lent good enquiry with good support from the West Bengal dealers. Liquoring better medium grades teas were opted by the CIS buyers.

Darjeeling teas offered in the sale saw lesser demand. The total offering was restricted to 5701chests.

The few selected lines sold at attractive prices and were absorbed by the continental buyers.

Brokens and fannings were opted by the West Bengal buyers at lower levels. The highest price was realised by two gardens at a time 8212; Temi Tea estate Sikkim and Teesta Valley Tea Estate at Rs 365 a kg.

The Orthodox sale with an offering of 17,853 packages, opened to a better general demand. About 13 per cent of the offering suffered withdrawal. The clean and liquoring whole leaf sold at dearer prices over the last levels of Rs 75-90 per kg. Brokens were generally higher by Rs 2-3 per kg and were selling between Rs 73-77 per kg. Fannings, however, maintained the previous levels between Rs 66-70 a kg.

Middle East and CIS buyers operated with improved strength while better support was provided by the West Bengal dealers and North Indian traders. The renowned packeteers were selective.

The Calcutta Dust sale No 22 met with fair demand with about 25 per cent in an offering of 6,882 packages beingwithdrawn. The best quality dusts tended lower with good and medium Assams selling at lower rates in line with the quality. The Western Indian markets absorbed the bright liquoring sorts with fair inquiry forthcoming from Tata Tea and from the West Bengal buyers. Brooke Bond, however, remained subdued.

Guwahati

The Guwahati sale No 23 which resumed last week, registered a seasonal improvement both in prices and quality of teas.

The leaf section of the sale market saw a fair general demand. The arrival was further higher at 64,752 chests of which about 19,425 packages remained unsold. The selected teas saw an improved sale and were ruling at fully firm rates following fair competition. The remaining teas, however, eased values by Rs 2-3 per kg. The plainer teas fell discernibly. Cachar teas were not included in the present sale.

Brooke Bond was selective in its operation. The better liquoring teas were once again opted by Gujarat and Maharashtra buyers. The North India and other packeteerslifted fair quantity of teas. The CIS buyers restricted their buying up to the level of Rs 75 per kg.

The Guwahati dust sale wherein 27,147 packages offered, saw a fair general demand. However, about 30 per cent of the arrival was neglected and withdrawn. The seasonal improved quality teas ruled dearer while the other teas fell in prices following the quality matter. Plainer and non-liquoring descriptions registered a conspicuous fall from the last levels and at times withdrew from the sale. The Cachar teas were not offered in the sale. Hindustan Lever remained extremely selective. Western India purchased seasonal improved quality dust teas and Tata Tea lent good support. Some interest was also witnessed while other domestic buyers operated at lower price teas.

London

The London auction where total offering amounted to 7,519 packages including landed and offshore sale, saw a strong and improved demand. In the landed sale bright and coloury East African teas met good competition after the pricesrose by 20-30 pence per kg over the previous levels. The plainer and poor liquoring teas also sold at firm to dearer rates. The landed sale included 1,780 packages Kenyan teas, 1135 packages Burundian tea, 869 packages from Zimbabwe, 280 packages from Malawi, 140 packages from Uganda, 104 packages from Ethiopia and 20 packages from Cameroon. All landed teas averaged at 117.57 pence per kg. In the offshore sale of London Auction, about 3,200 packages offered and the better liquoring varieties sold at higher prices following a strong demand from the buyers. The average prices of the offshore sale remained at 112.81 pence.