Tea surveillance: 04/04/2007

COLOMBO: A higher quantity of 5.07MKg was traded this week at the Colombo Auction of which 1.03MKg were Ex-estate teas.

The key feature of the sale was a strong demand for quality teas that was spurred by the fact that the next sale is two weeks away. Consequently, shippers keen to meet their commitments were active all round, compensating for the sale lost to the festive season.

The Pekoe’s stayed high at over Rs. 400 per kg due to strong interest from Syria and Russia. Select Best varieties moved up significantly whilst the Secondaries and poorer sorts followed a similar trend.

Tippy teas also maintained interest on account of strong demand from Iran and Dubai whilst buying from the C.I.S. was moderate. Only the Ex-estate teas experience a lower market though the improved BOPF’s were in high demand. Sale of tea bags and packeted teas followed a regular pattern.

India has announced that it will remove port restriction on Sri Lanka’s tea and garment exports following the conclusion of a two-day technical level negotiation on the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) in Colombo recently.