Bangladesh tea prices fall

Tea prices in Bangladesh fell about 1 percent at the weekly auction on Tuesday due to higher supplies of inferior grade leaf, but strong demand for quality leaf capped a steeper decline. Bangladesh tea fetched an average of 186.82 taka ($2.50) per kg at the auction, down from 188.84 taka in the previous sale. "Offerings were very heavy this week with a large portion of tea being plain and inferior in quality," the National Brokers said in its market report.
"Plain tea continued to be neglected and majority... withdrawn without any bids." However, there was strong demand for quality tea which was in short supply, the official said. More than 33 percent of the 3 million kg offered at the sole auction centre in Chittagong was unsold. In the previous auction, about 30 percent of the 2.7 million kg on offer remained unsold. Bangladesh has become a net importer of tea from a net exporter earlier due to rising consumption.