Financial Express – Bombay, India
KOCHI, JAN 28: The South Indian tea industry has enough reasons to be satisfied with prices registering a 19.5% rise during the 51 auctions held last year at the three centres and more significantly, the trend is continuing. This was despite the slightly lower arrivals for the auctions.
The average price realisation from all these centres was Rs 50.31 per kg compared to Rs 42.11 per kg in 2005. Reflecting the lower production in the South, tea sold through the three auction centres – Kochi, Coonoor and Coimbatore – during the 51 auctions in 2006 was 1,19,760 tonne compared to 1,21,1761 tonne in 2005. Besides around 15,000 tonne was auctioned through the Teaserve centre in Coonoor. According to United Planters Association of South Indian (Upasi) provisional figures, the total tea production in the South was down to 2.25 lakh tonne in 2006 compared to 2.27 lakh tonne during 2005.
Incidentally, despite a lower arrival of the CTC variety compared to orthodox, the average price for the former increased by Rs 8.72 to Rs 50.07 a kg when the latter went up by Rs 6.03 to Rs 54.28 per kg. This, according to growers was in tune with the global situation of lower CTC production, especially in Kenya, which earlier in the year witnessed a severe drought.
Kochi continued to have the highest arrivals with 59,063 tonne of which CTC had a share of 47,818 tonne. The previous year’s total arrival was 60,316 tonne. The average price earned was Rs 54.41per kg compared to Rs 49.40 per kg the previous year.
During the year, the South had a substantial rise in exports, and as per figures available till November total shipments were 100.4 million kg up from 85.3 million kg in 2005. In comparison, exports from the North fell to 70.5 million kg from 82.9 million kg during the same period.
Coonoor followed Kochi with arrival of 37,392 tonne with CTC accounting for 34,657 tonne, up from 41,614 tonne in 2005. The average price increase was the highest there up to Rs 47.77 per kg from Rs 36.03 per kg in 2005.
In Coimbatore, the total arrival during 2006 was 23,303 tonne as against 19,830 tonne the previous year. The average price went up to Rs 49.38 per kg from 40.91 per kg. When all other centres had a fall in arrival of both orthodox and CTCs, the Coimbatore auction centre saw CTC arrivals go up to 20,897 tonne from 17,229 tonne in 2005.
Trade sources said that in the wake of substantial improvement in prices during the last few auctions of 2006 across the three centres, the trend was expected to continue for the next few weeks.
