Tea prices in Bangladesh edged lower at the weekly auction on October 1, due to larger supplies of inferior quality, although robust demand for quality leaf capped the fall.
Bangladeshi tea fetched an average of Tk184.74 ($2.39) per kg at the auction, lower than the Tk185.99 at the previous sale, said an official at National Brokers Ltd.
Nearly 2.45 million kg was offered at the auction centre in Chittagong, with 18.9% going unsold. The last time, about 2.6 million kg was offered, of which a fifth went unsold.
Buyers showed little interest in buying poor quality tea and that pulled down overall prices, the official said. Strong demand from local buyers for quality tea limited the fall, he added.
The next auction is to be held tomorrow, after a week’s gap due to the Muslim holiday of Eid al-Adha.
Tea production in Bangladesh rose 1.6% in 2013 to a record 63.5 million kg due to favourable weather, but was still short of the domestic consumption of about 65 million kg.
The country has moved from being a net exporter of tea to a net importer due to rising consumption.
