Premium tea prices on rise might go further up: WITDA

Ahmedabad

In Gujarat, one of the largest premium quality tea consuming states in India, the prices of the premium brand tea has already seen some increase in recent past. The state is well poised for a further increase in tea price.

Addressing a press conference here Secretary of the Western India Tea Dealers Association. Mr. Paras Desai today said that due to bad weather patterns the quality production of the Assam tea, which was the largest kind of premium or quality tea consumed in Gujarat and other parts of western India, has seen a slump resulting in a price hike of Rs. 8 to 12 per kg.

Mr. Desai, who is also the Executive Director of the largest tea brand in Gujarat Wagh Bakari, said, “unusual weather pattern marked by abundance of rainfall from June to August in major parts of Assam, has left tea producers unable to produce quality tea crop even though the total annual production was more or less the same at around 560 million kg. The total tea production is not affected as such but owing to incessant rains the quality crop could not come up and was five to seven percent less than the normal production figures. Quality tea is 15 to 16 percent of the total Assam tea production but this year it was somewhere between 10 to 15 percent.The prices of quality tea are ranged between 350 to 400 a kg and might go further up.”

He said that the scenario was bleak in another major supplier of quality tea, Kenya, where the crop was behind by 49 million kg up to July. This shortfall has resulted in bullishness in prices of average Kenyan teas by Rs 40 per kg. Best quality of Kenyan teas were high by Rs 60 to 80 per kg. So there was no respite looking through import of Kenyan tea to make up for the Assam tea shortfall.

Mr. Deasai, however, said that the prices of plainer and medium sorts of Assam tea was not expected to shoot up as its production was not affected.

To a query he also stressed the need for permanent appointment of the chairman of the tea board as absence of such an official was affecting the Rs. 14000 crore tea industry, which was the largest employment provider after the railway and highest women employer, adversely. The tea consumption growth rate was also not showing any increase because of coming of so many new kind of beverages in the Indian markets. This time it is expected to remain below 2.5 percent of the last year.

– DeshGujarat