Bangladesh Tea Prices Up On Strong Winter Demand

18 November, Dhaka

Tea prices in Bangladesh rose at the weekly auction on Tuesday, due to a drop in supply amid good demand for the winter season.

Bangladeshi tea fetched an average 192.54 taka ($2.44) per kg at the twenty-seventh auction of the current marketing season, compared with 189.11 taka at the previous sale, an executive with National Brokers said.

About 2.03 million kg were offered at the sole auction centre in Chittagong, of which 13.76 percent was unsold. In the previous auction, about 6.5 percent of the 2.14 million kg offered went unsold.

There was strong demand as buyers wanted to stock up for the winter season amid lower supplies at the auction, aiding a pick-up in prices, the executive said, adding that sales volume dropped, though, on a larger quantity of poor grade leaf.

Typically demand for tea rises in Bangladesh during the winter.

The national budget for the 2015/16 fiscal year that started in July raised the regulatory duty on tea imports by 5 percent to discourage overseas buying.

Tea prices fell sharply in the last marketing season on poor demand from local buyers, as business sentiment was hit by renewed political unrest early this year that left more than 120 people dead and disrupted supplies.

The country has moved from being a net exporter to a net importer of tea due to rising consumption.