Tuesday, August 17, 2010

Uva teas expected to break price records

  • Green tea makes debut
  • High prices could threaten Ceylon tea
By Steve A. Morrell

Market conditions were good with tea fetching good prices, but brokers said crops have not increased as expected. Usually at this time of year Uva crops were low and this was normal, but brokers said because of dry hot winds blowing through the entire Uva region, from the Haputale highlands through the Bandarawela hills and into the Badulla basin, crops are being affected.

Lunugala low lands of Uva fared quite well last week while Adawatte and Shawlands did have promising prices. On the Bandarawela plateau, Uva highlands showed early signs of heading for more record prices this season.

All told, brokers are optimistic that Uva seasonal teas would have a positive impact on the market during weeks ahead.

A small quantity of green tea was offered at the auctions last week, being the first of this tea type, to be offered.

Meanwhile, as gleaned from the Asia Siyaka Weekly Tea Market Report, the Indian Tea market remained bullish.

How did this fact influence Colombo? Quite significantly brokers said. India does not need to sell world wide. Their domestic market was so big that whatever tea they produce could be consumed locally.

However some brokers said this could be bad news for Ceylon tea.

As indicated by The Island Financial Review over the past few weeks, Colombo was progressively having the ‘most expensive’ tag line hitched to its Tea market and some tea brokers said we could no loner carry the ‘Best in the world’ tag. There are others who could also lay claim to ‘the best’ tag. But the difference was they were cheaper, and very competitive.

Comparing world production figures for end June, Sri Lanka recorded a crop of 36.38 million kilos. Kenya for the same period recorded 73 .3 million kilos.

Sri Lanka had its crop peak four years ago and brokers wandered whether it was now in decline.

This week, 6.2 million kilos would be auctioned.

source - www.island.lk

No comments: