Bangladeshi tea prices fall

The average price of Bangladeshi teas dipped on poor quality despite higher demand at the weekly auction on Tuesday, brokers said.
"About 1.14 million kg was sold at an average price of 66.75 taka per kg, down 0.96 taka from previous sale. The withdrawal percentage was 8.36," a market report by National Brokers Limited (NBL), the country's largest tea broking firm, said.
Domestic buyers were active while foreign buyers from the Commonwealth of Independent States, Afghanistan and Pakistan were less active at this week's auction.
"The demand emanated mostly from domestic buyers who were timid in the past weeks due to raging floods," Rafay Nizam, a director of NBL, said.
Bangladesh's monsoon floods - the worst in 15 years - have eased in the past week but raging rivers have killed over 730 people and damaged property, crops and infrastructure worth about $7 billion.
NBL said different grades of tea sold between 58 and 113 taka per kg.
The next weekly auction will be held on August 17 with an expected offering of 1.23 million kg of tea.