Sri Lanka tea prices mixed as quality varies

COLOMBO (Reuters) Prices of Sri Lanka teas were mixed at the latest auction as small amounts of good teas on sale attracted higher bids while prices of many varieties fell in tandem with quality, brokers said today.

Prices of High Grown teas like Broken Orange Pekoes (BOPs) from the high altitude regions like Uva and Udapussellawa fell 2.00 to 3.00 rupees at the auction held Tuesday and Wednesday. The best low grown BOPs on offer gained 2.00 to 4.00 rupees. "There was fair general demand with buyers following quality closely," said Forbes and Walker Tea Brokers in a statement."It is advisable for producers to focus more on quality during this period," the statement added.

The provisional gross sales average was 188.50 rupees ($1.88) per kg, slightly higher than last week's average of 187.61 rupees per kg, Forbes and Walker said.

There was selective buying interest from the United Kingdom and Japan. A total of 5.9 million kgs of tea were on sale this week, while 6.7 million kgs are expected to be on offer at the next auction on Aprrial 26 and 27.