Coonoor auctions see all-time low volume

There has been a steep decline in the volume of tea up for auction at Coonoor following the closure of some factories by the Tea Board in an effort to tighten the quality of tea sold in the market. A volume of 7.80 lakh kg of tea is catalogued for auctions of the Coonoor Tea Trade Association (CTTA) scheduled for December 22 and 23.

This is the lowest volume for the year, compared to the 8.4 lakh kg offered during the first week of the month. This will be the eighth time in 2005 when the volume is below 10 lakh kg. During all the other 43 auctions of this year, the volume offered was more than 10 lakh kg.

Commenting on the decline in the volume of the offerings, R D Nazeem, executive director, Tea Board, Coonoor, told Business Standard that the offerings this year had come down by 50 per cent compared to last year's.

"The low offering is not only due to bad weather that affected the harvest of the crop but also due to the board's stringent measures to control the auction and sale of substandard tea," he said.

More than 20 factories have closed down and showcause notice has been issued to 17 factories in this regard, he added.

According to a trade source, the volumes are low because the growers and the manufacturers are resorting to quality manufacture, ridding the market of low quality teas.

Despite a drop in the volume, the quality of the high grown winter tea, a premium product which usually fetches a good price, has improved. Upcountry buyers like Iran and Pakistan are keen on buying such teas, no matter how dear the price is. But they are not able to get adequate volume.