Guwahati: The Guwahati Tea Auction Centre (GTAC), established in 1970, has emerged as a global hub for tea trading, achieving a remarkable milestone with the sale of Assam tea reaching a value of Rs 2,300 crore in the financial year 2023-24.
Renowned for its extensive auctions of CTC (Crush, Tear, Curl) tea, GTAC has solidified its position as a prominent tea trading facility.
The quality of Assam tea took center stage during the auctions, notably with the Manohari Gold Tea from the Dibrugarh district in eastern Assam. This tea fetched an amount of Rs 1.15 lakh per kilogram at a private auction on the Tea Inntech portal.
From Sale No. 14 (April 1st Week) to Sale No. 49 (December 1st Week), GTAC reported the sale of 114.29 million kilograms of tea at an average price of Rs 198.51 per kilogram.
Ramesh Mundhra of Mundhra Tea Company in Guwahati provided insights comparing this to the previous year, revealing that in the same period, GTAC had sold 114.50 million kilograms at an average price of Rs 201.14.
According to data from the Tea Board Production, the Indian tea crop for the period from January to October 2023 amounted to 1163.06 million kilograms, slightly lower than the 1166.34 million kilograms recorded during the same period in 2022.
The success of GTAC is further evidenced by the tea sales during the fiscal year 2022-23, where approximately 165 million kilograms of tea were sold, generating revenue exceeding Rs 3,300 crore, with an average price of Rs 191.26 per kilogram.
The most sought-after tea brands from Assam Tea Gardens, including Halmari, Hookmool, Sotai, Khona, Banamalie, and Gelakey, continue to dominate the market at GTAC.
Dinesh Bihani, Secretary of the Guwahati Tea Auction Buyer’s Association (GTABA), highlighted a special tea named Golden Needle, which achieved an extraordinary price of Rs 61,000 per kilogram this year.
The Golden Needle tea is meticulously crafted, with the finest buds handpicked from the premium P-126 cultivar of the Camellia sinensis var. assamica plant, and undergoes careful withering, oxidation, and drying processes.
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