ECONOMYNEXT – Sri Lanka’s Ceylon Tea prices fell for the second week at an auction on January 31, with teas from all elevations seeing a decline, data showed.
“In retrospect, the decline in prices would be a price correction owing to the overall product quality and less interest from some key importers due to the arrival of cargo at destinations ahead of schedule,” Forbes and Walker tea brokers said.
The weekly sale average fell from 1475.79 rupees to 1465.40 rupees from a week ago, according to data from Ceylon Tea Brokers.
The tea prices are down for two weeks in a row.
High Growns
The High Grown sale average was down by 20.90 rupees to 1380.23 rupees, Ceylon Tea Brokers said.
High grown BOP and BOPF was down about 100 rupees.
“Ex-Estate offerings which totalled 0.75 M/Kg saw a slight decline in quality over the previous week” Forbes and Walker said.
OP/OPA’s in general were steady to marginally down.
Low Growns
In Low Grown Teas, FBOP 1 was down by 100 rupees and FBOP was down by 50 rupees while PEK was up by 150 rupees.
The Low Growns sale average was down by 8.55 rupees to 1547.93 rupees.
A few select Best BOP1s along with Below Best varieties maintained.
OP1 Select Best OP1’s were steady, whilst improved/clean Below Best varieties maintained. Others and poorer sorts were easier.
PEKOE Well- made PEK/PEK1s in general were steady, whilst others and poorer sorts were down.
Leafy and Semi Leafy catalogues met with fair demand,” Forbes and Walker brokers said.
“However, the Small Leaf and Premium catalogues continued to decline.
“Shippers to Iran were very selective, whilst shippers to Türkiye and Russia were fairly active.”
This week 2.2 million Kilograms of Low Growns were sold.
Medium Growns
Medium Grown BOP and BOPF fell by around 100 rupees
The Medium Growns sale average was down by 33.40 rupees to 1199.4 rupees.
“Medium CTC teas in the higher price bracket witnessed a similar trend, whilst teas at the lower end were somewhat maintained subject to quality,” Forbes and Walker brokers said.
“Improved activity from the local trade and perhaps South Africa helped to stabilize prices to some extent.”
OP/OPA grades were steady while PEKOE/PEKOE1 were firm, while some gained 50-100 rupees at times.
Well-made FBOP/FBOPF1’s were down by 50-100 rupees per kg and more at times.
(Colombo/Feb 5/2023)
