KOLKATA, July 26: Prices of leaf grade CTC and orthodox teas fell for the third week running at the weekly Kolkata auction, traders said on Friday.

The average price of leaf grade CTC teas fell 3.5 per cent to Rs75.26 per kg from Rs77.95 last week, they said.

In the heavily-traded leaf grade Assam CTC segment, the average price fell nearly three percent to Rs82.68 per kg this week compared to last week and over 12 per cent from 94.41 rupees per kg three weeks ago.

The price of leaf grade orthodox teas fell 8.5 per cent to Rs86.38 per kg this week from Rs95.42 last week, the Kolkata Brokers’ Joint Statistics Department said.

There was continued good demand for orthodox teas at the lower prices especially for whole leaf and leafy liquoring brokens and good buying support from West Asia and Europe.

In the dust grade category, the average price of Assam CTC fell again at this week’s auction by over seven per cent to Rs77.25 per kg from Rs83.30 last week, traders said.

In the last two weeks, the average price of Assam CTC dust has fallen over nine per cent.

Alarmed by falling tea prices in India, the country’s state-run Tea Board announced on Wednesday that the government planned to set up a price stabilisation fund to check the southward movement of prices and keep them within a broad band.—Reuters