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Kolkata , July 15

A LOT of Darjeeling tea — produced by the Makaibari Tea Estate — has fetched a price of Rs 18,000 a kg.

According to a release issued by the Calcutta Tea Traders Association, this is a "world record", the lot being sold at the Calcutta auction centre on Monday.

Currently, the average price of Darjeeling teas at the auction has been Rs 171 per kg. Last year, around this time, the average price was Rs 117 per kg.

The tea was purchased by Godfrey Phillips India Ltd for despatch to Japan and the US. The Makaibari garden belongs to the city-based Makaibari Tea & Trading Pvt Ltd of Mr. P.K. Banerjee. Five chests containing 55 kg of second flush teas was sold in the deal, the tea being packed as Makaibari Silver Tips (Imperial). The auctioneer was J. Thomas & Co.

On July 8, a single lot of CTC tea from Assam also created a record by fetching Rs 250 a kg. According to industry sources, that price too was probably the highest ever recorded in the history of Indian tea auctions.

The CTC tea was produced by Halmari Tea Estate belonging to the city-based Amrawati Tea Company Ltd. The lot comprised 11 chests (approximately 407 kg) of second flush BOP (broken orange pekoe) grade. At present, the average CTC price in the Calcutta auction centre is between Rs 80 and Rs 85 per kg.

Saket Impex, a merchant exporter, picked up the lot after some strong opposition from A Tosh & Co. Industry sources said that Saket Impex purchased the CTC tea on behalf of a Japanese buyer.

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