Colombo Tea Auction sales average reaches all-time high

The Colombo Tea Auction saw sales average reaching an all-time high in September, recording Rs. 1,599.40 (US$ 4.46) per kilo surpassing the previous best of Rs.1,508.21 (US$ 4.21) that was recorded a month ago in August. 
When compared with the September 2021 average of Rs.587.66, September 2022 shows a significant increase of Rs. 1,011.83 year-on-year (YoY), gaining 1.5 in US dollar terms as well.

“It would be noteworthy that in US$ terms, September 2022 average of US$ 4.46 records an increase of US$ 0.25 when compared to August 2022 average of US$ 4.21,” said Forbes and Walker Research in their latest auction update.

September also saw all elevations recording highest ever sales averages. 
High-Grown tea recorded the highest average of Rs. 1,448.14, which is an increase of Rs. 59.88 when compared with August 2022. In comparison to September 2021 average of Rs.557.39, the September 2022 sales average recorded a significant increase of Rs. 890.76.

For Medium-Grown, sales average hit Rs. 1,336.96 in September, up by Rs. 100.82 when compared with that of August. The increase was Rs. 832.33 when compared with September 2021.
Low-Grown teas too recorded their highest ever average of Rs. 1,706.02 in September surpassing the previous best of Rs. 1,616.24 recorded in August 2022. It was a sharp Rs.1, 084.85 increase from a year ago.

Cumulative analysis showed that all elevations recorded significant gains during the period of January-September 2022 when compared to the corresponding period in 2021, both in rupee and US dollar terms. 
However, Sri Lanka Tea Board (SLTB) Chairman recently urged the country’s tea planters not to get carried away by the recent surge in auction prices as the country’s tea industry is coming under severe threat emerging from well-organised drives from India and Kenya.

“We are happy that (tea) prices are high, but our crop is low, therefore the availability of different teas that suit those countries with a better affording is diminishing. Because it’s small in quantity, Sri Lankan exporters can pay higher prices to buy. So, we are happy with the higher prices, but importers are not happy with higher prices,” SLTB Chairman Niraj De Mel said.
He cautioned the planters that importers could source identical teas US$ 2-3 cheaper to Sri Lanka from India and Kenya. 

Having identified a market opportunity to compete with Ceylon Tea exports in lucrative Middle Eastern countries, De Mel noted that Kenya and India have launched a campaign to capture these vital markets, which could potentiality trigger a crisis in the Ceylon Tea industry.