Tea prices in Bangladesh rose at the weekly auction on Tuesday due to strong demand from local buyers amid lower supplies, although poor quality left a huge volume unsold. Bangladeshi tea fetched an average of 183.20 taka ($2.33) per kg at the auction against 181.34 taka at the previous sale, an official at National Brokers Ltd said.
Around 1.77 million kg was offered at the sole auction centre in Chittagong, with more than 37 percent remaining unsold. At the previous auction, nearly 1.8 million kg was offered, of which 27 percent went unsold. "There was strong demand for quality tea and buyers were ready to pay a good price," the official said. "But they showed little interest in buying poor quality tea and that left a huge quantity unsold."
Bangladeshi buyers have been importing tea in bulk from neighbouring India, contributing to a glut in the domestic market and reducing demand at auctions, industry sources said. That has prompted authorities to extend the last season through April from the typical close at end-March. In April, however, the Bangladeshi tax authority trebled regulatory duty to 15 percent on imports of tea to discourage overseas buying amid a drop in local prices due to ample supplies.
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