Assam tea industry expects higher prices

Supratim Dey

Kolkata/ Guwahati March 10 :

With the carryover of last year’s stock being nil, Assam tea industry is expecting price realisation to be in line with last year or even better in 2011. Also, with the weather being “normal” till now, tea harvesting has already begun in many areas of the state.

“As there has been no carryover this year, there is absolutely no reason why price realisation should not be as good as last year or even better in 2011,” said Bidyananda Barkakoty, chairman of North Eastern Tea Association (NETA).

Harvesting of crop, Barkakoty said, has already begun in many areas of Brahmaputra Valley as the weather has been “more or less normal”. In past, the tea production in the initial months in the state had suffered due to unfavourable weather conditions, with the worst being in 2009 when the sate witnessed a drought-like condition.

Barkakoty further told Business Standard that the industry in hopeful that even if the weather plays truant, prices would remain firm in 2011. “Though we don’t know how the weather will be later, but we don’t think prices would be below last year’s average,” he said.

In 2010, the average prices of Assam tea have been Rs. 130.39 and 112.93 respectively in Kolkata and Guwahati auction centres.

The average price of Assam CTC (leaf) tea in Kolkata auction was Rs. 131.69 and that of CTC (dust) was Rs. 128.07. Similarly, average prices of CTC (leaf) and CTC (dust) had been Rs. 117.99 and 117.26 respectively in Guwahati auction.

Though Assam witnessed a bumper production and healthy price realisation in 2009, thus bringing the industry out of 10 years of recession, production took a hit last year due to excessive rainfall. Total tea produced in Assam in 2010 was little more than 480 million kgs as compared to 499 million kgs in 2009.

Assam accounts for around 55 per cent of total tea produced in India. The total tea production in 2010 in India was 966 million kgs.