Erratic weather, poor quality keep tea auction prices subdued

After a healthy start to tea auctions this year, northern and southern India have two different tales to narrate. While the average auction prices in the country’s northern auction centres fell by 14.43 per cent to Rs 108.55 a kilo in March as compared to January 2017, the prices in the southern auction centres were up 6.1 per cent to Rs 119.12 a kilo. However, in April, prices rebounded in the northern auction by 25.3 per cent at Rs 136.04 a kilo (when compared to March 2017), while prices dropped in the south by 5.1 per cent at Rs 113.04 a kg. In January, the northern auctions kicked off at Rs 126.86 per kg while the price in south India stood at Rs 112.24 a kilo. Future & Option Trading Tips

On a year-on-year basis, April prices in north India fell by 9.2 per cent. Industry officials said the price decline in the northern auctions is primarily on account of the inferior quality of tea from the first flush which got affected due to excessive rains. Heat wave in south India affected the production there too. Not only did production volume fall by 25.15 per cent at 41.40 million kg (mkg) in north India last month, with the fall accounting for 4.61 per cent at 14.68 mkg in south India, the quality of tea suffered a lot. S S Bagaria, chairman and managing director of the Bagaria Group opined that the stress is on account of the inferior quality of the leaves which resulted from excessive rains in the peak first flush season. Financial Astrology Tips


“The quality of tea has been affected on account of erratic weather and lower quality is bound to fetch lower prices”, he said. Prices in the last week of April, at the Guwahati auction centre, fell by Rs 9.68 a kilo with industry officials accounting inferior quality as the primary problem. Auction prices in the north had been on a declining trend since January till March as the carryover stock from last year’s third and fourth flush entered the auctions. However, the first flush which entered the April auctions boosted sentiments. Even then the prices remain lower than last year.  Astrology and Numerology Trading Tips