Indian tea prices drop on sluggish demand

Average tea prices in India, the world's second-biggest producer, dropped at last week's auction due to sluggish demand for poor quality leaf from leading buyers. The CTC (crush-tear-curl) grade leaf was sold at 105.07 rupees ($1.72) per kg last week, down 6.6 percent from the previous auction, while prices of the dust grade rose 2 percent to 123.86 rupees per kg on thin supplies. "Demand was very weak. Some big buyers didn't participate in the auction since poor quality tea was offered," said a Kolkata-based dealer.
There will be no tea auction this week and the next due to dwindling supplies, the Calcutta Tea Traders' Association (CTTA) said in a statement. India's tea exports in 2013 nudged higher by nearly 2 percent to 211.86 million kgs due to higher purchases by Iran, the state-run Tea Board said in a statement.