Sri Lanka October tea prices reach record levels

Nov 04, 2016 (LBO) - Sri Lankan tea prices at the Colombo auctions were at an new monthly high in October 2016 as volumes fell but demand picked up. “Auction averages reached record levels in the backdrop of a sharp decline in availability,” Forbes & Walker Tea brokers said in their October report. "Auction average for the month of October totaled Rs.550.92 vis-à-vis Rs.390.13 of October 2015 showing a substantial gain of Rs.160.79 thus establishing the highest ever average for a calendar month." Full statement is below Highest ever monthly average - Up Rs.160.79 YOY Monthly averages of all three elevations achieve record levels Auction average for the month of October totalled Rs.550.92 vis-à-vis Rs.390.13 of October 2015 showing a substantial gain of Rs.160.79 thus establishing the highest ever average for a calendar month. It is also relevant to note that this is the second consecutive month where this feat was achieved the previous best being September 2016 when the average realized Rs.512.03.It is also commendable that all three elevations too have recorded the highest averages for a calendar month . High Growns totalling Rs.523.88 have shown a gain of Rs.117.02 vis-à-vis Rs.406.86 of October 2015.Similarly Mediums averaging Rs.487.34 have shown a gain of Rs.131.69 vis-à-vis Rs.355.65 of October 2015. Low Growns with a substantial gain of Rs.179.95 have recorded an average of Rs.572.15 for October 2016 vis-à-vis Rs.392.20 of October 2015.These levels are significantly higher than the corresponding month of 2015 even in USD terms. Further these levels show a fairly significant gain over 2014 levels in LKS/USD terms. January – October 2016 cumulative auction average totalled Rs.450.84 vis-à-vis Rs.400.04 of January – October 2015 showing a gain of Rs.50.80. High Growns totalling Rs.433.37 have shown a gain of Rs.47.69 vis-à-vis Rs.385.68 of January-October 2015 whilst Medium Growns totalling Rs.406.73 show a gain of Rs.45.18 vis-à-vis Rs.361.55 of January-October 2015. Similarly Low Growns totalling Rs.467.76 for the period of January-October 2016 show a gain of Rs.53.49 Vis-à-vis Rs.414.27 of January-October 2015. Here again these averages show a growth in USD terms although not as significant as the gain achieved for the month. It is also relevant that with the exception of the High Grown average, all other elevational averages have been lower when compared to 2014 cumulative averages.