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DHAKA: Tea prices in Bangladesh rose sharply on Tuesday at a weekly auction due to higher demand from local buyers for quality leaf amid a tight supply, brokers said.
The average price of Bangladeshi tea increased by 3 per cent to 166.82 taka ($1.98) a kg from the previous sale, said an official at the National Brokers Limited, the country’s largest tea broking firm.
Around 1.7 million kg of tea was offered at the country’s only auction centre, in the main port city Chittagong, and 17.70 per cent was left unsold. That compared with 20.65 per cent unsold in the previous auction when the offer was 1.8 million tonnes.
There was huge demand for quality leaf and prices for the tea went up by almost 10 taka this week while prices for inferior quality slipped, the official said.
Volumes on offer also dropped this week due to a lean season, he added.
Bangladesh’s tax authority has imposed a 25 per cent duty on imports of tea to safeguard local industry.
The south Asian country has become a net importer of tea after previously ranking as the world’s fifth largest exporter.
Tea exports fell to $3.2 million in the fiscal year ended in June from $5.65 million the previous year, mainly due to growing domestic demand.
Pakistan, the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia are the main importers of Bangladeshi tea.
The next auction will be held on Jan. 31, with around 1.9 million kg on offer.
