Tea prices in Bangladesh ticked higher at a weekly auction on Tuesday on strong demand from local buyers and sales rose despite larger supplies, brokers said. The average price of Bangladeshi tea was 285.06 taka ($3.6) per kg against 282.80 taka in the previous auction, an official at National Brokers Limited said. More than 1.3 million kg of tea were offered at Chittagong, with 2.54 percent unsold, compared with around 1 million kg offered and 1.55 percent unsold at the previous auction.
Last January, Bangladesh's tax authority imposed a 25 percent duty on tea imports to safeguard the local industry. The south Asian country produces 60 million kg of tea a year against demand of 56 million. Tea consumption is rising by 4.5 percent annually, in line with steady economic growth.