Trade Industry Urges Tea Board to Address Technical Issues in Auctions

Stakeholders in South Indian tea auctions have approached the Tea Board with a request to resolve technical issues that have caused frequent trading disruptions. According to industry sources, the Tea Board is working to resolve the issues, which are causing auctions to be halted in many South Indian cities.

The Board has promised to resolve the issue as soon as possible. According to the Tea Trade Association of Cochin officials, these technical issues are undermining the purpose for which the new auction platform was launched.

The impact of disruptions and delays is no longer a minor issue, and the trade has requested an immediate solution to ensure the smooth operation of the auctions.

Meanwhile, the CTC dust market was down in sale 8 in Kochi auctions, as blenders were not present in the sale, as they had been in previous weeks. This was reflected in the average price realization, which was down by three points to 139 per kg from 142 the previous week. Only 77% of the 9,72,571 kg offered were sold.

According to auctioneers Forbes, Ewart & Figgis, the market for select powdery grades was barely stable and tended to ease. Others were irregular, dropping by 2-5 kg per week, and had a high number of withdrawals.

Primary grades in orthodox dust remained stable, while others fell. The offered quantity was 5,500 kg, and exporters absorbed a small portion of the sold quantity.

Exporters Cautious

However, traders focused on exports are concerned about the impact of the Russia-Ukraine conflict on overseas orders in the coming days. Russia is a significant buyer of the orthodox leaf at Kochi auctions.

There are currently no issues with exports, and a clear picture of overseas orders will emerge soon, according to trade sources. The leaf market was also down, with Nilgiri whole leaf and broken in orthodox grades lower by 5-10%. According to the auctioneers, exporters to the CIS and West Asia provided only marginal assistance.