DHAKA: The prices of Bangladesh tea fell sharply again this week at a weekly auction.

Brokers said the price dragged down by poor grade leaf near the end of the season.

The tax authority last week trebled regulatory duties to 15 percent on imports of tea to discourage overseas buying after a drop in local prices due to ample supplies.

An official from National Brokers Limited said that Bangladeshi tea fetched an average of 69.23 taka ($0.89) per kg at the auction, sharply down from 97.16 taka at the previous week`s sale, when price dropped around 20 percent.  

The official said also said that more than 926,000 kg was offered at the country`s sole auction centre in Chittagong, and almost 55 percent remained unsold. At the previous auction, nearly 1.8 million kg was offered, of which 46 percent went unsold. Buyers showed little interest in buying end-of-season poor quality tea and that pulled down both prices and sales volume.

The auction season, typically to end-March, has been extended through April.

Source: business recorder