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| Sunday, 27 January 2002 |
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Business |  |
| News Business Features Editorial
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Tea
prices expected to be higher
by Elmo Leonard Many factors led to a record Colombo tea auction average of Rs 159.06 per kilogram at the second weekly auction during January. There was a lull in buying tea through Colombo during December due to the uncertainty which prevailed in the minds of buyers during the General Elections. The subsequent curfew also drove away buyers, members of the Colombo Tea Traders' Association said. The sudden surge in buying in January is due to the renewal of confidence in Sri Lanka, spurred by the current peace process. The low grown tea average for the second weekly auction of January, of Rs 175.81 per kilo, is also a record. Islamic countries are the main buyers of Sri Lanka's low grown tea. During Ramazan, Middle Eastern countries like Saudi Arabia, UAE, Iran, Jordan, Syria, Turkey, and some of the CIS countries with predominantly Muslim populations, were not represented at the Colombo tea auctions. These countries resumed buying in Colombo this month, Haroon Musafer, Senior Manager of Bartleet's tea department said. Moreover, buyers from these States have been ordered to make swift purchases to replenish depleted stocks, which increased the demand. Another factor is that cross-border or camel train trading within the Muslim countries has begun. Colombo tea prices are expected to be high during the coming weeks. January, February and March are traditionally good for tea, as dry weather prevails during this time. The Western plantations' quality tea season has just commenced, with dry weather being experienced in the Dimbula and Dikoya tea plantations, Musafer said. With the commencement of the Western, or Dimbula\Dikoya tea season, there is a renewed demand for Uva or Eastern plantation teas to be used as fillers when tea is purchased in bulk. |
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