In the CTC section, prices showed an easy trend. Consumption of teas went down to 85 per cent out of an offering of 47,634 packages as against 90 per cent out of 62,711 packages in the past sale. All teas staged a fall by about Rs 2-3 per kg barring some black grainy clean teas, which met good competition. Some bolder brokens were also on offer and well-received by buyers at steady rates.

The good and medium Assam brokens and fannings were sold between Rs 50 and Rs 120 a kg while dooars sold at around last levels between Rs 59 and Rs 68 a kg.

Western Indian markets continued to lift good liquoring teas while other domestic buyers lent useful support. There were trade enquiries from Tata Tea andDuncans, while Hindustan Lever's offtake was limited at liquoring lines. CIS shippers took an active part in the sale and operated up to the level of Rs 73 a kg.

The offering of tea in sales continued to decline with the season approaching towards end. There were 4,184 chests of Darjeeling teas on offer compared to 5,573 chests in the last sale and more than 15 per cent remained unsold. Selected clean whole leaf teas were well-received by continental shippers at last levels with occasional dearer trends. The other whole leaf eased in value following the quality lines and was absorbed by HLL and other packeteers with some enquiries from the UK and Middle East countries. Brokens and fannings sold well after good cross bidding by West Bengal buyers and major packeteers. Prices varied between past and easier levels.

In the orthodox section where 13,142 chests were put for sale, prices of all grades of teas witnessed a fall. Consumption also registered a decline to 80 per cent only as against 90 per cent inthe past sale. A small weight of cleaner whole leaf teas met with some competition but were absorbed at lower levels. All other teas eased in value by about Rs 2-5 a kg depending on the quality. Fannings also staged a decline by Rs 2-3 per kg followed by some withdrawals.

Among the overseas buyers, Middle-East and Gulf shippers took limited interest in leafy lines while CIS shippers lifted more or less all categories of orthodox teas at lower levels.

Local buyers also lent some enquiries on liquoring lines.The Siliguri sale no 6 met with a good demand. Out of an offering of 6,62,200 packages, more than 90 per cent were sold. However, the price levels were lower than those of the past sale. The best sorts eased by Rs 2-3 per kg while the remaining teas eased irregularly by Rs 4 per kg and more. The only firm tendency was evident for bolder brokens which ruled barely steady.

HLL operated with fair strength and lifted teas up to the level of Rs 72 a kg. Good enquiry also came from Tata Tea and Eveready.However, other packeteers were subdued in the sale. There were selective enquiries from the western Indian markets. Northern markets lifted large quantity of teas. CIS and Poland shippers were also fairly active and operated up to Rs 68 a kg.

The Guwahati sale no 6 met with less demand with more than 25 per cent teas leaving unsold. Though the CTC section witnessed a better sale, the dust ruled weak. The market opened for 81,244 packages of CTC teas offered in the sale at lower levels. Out of this, about 80 per cent was sold. Good and better liquoring Assam brokens and fannings continued to decline in prices and the levels were down by Rs 3-5 a kg. The non-liquoring and reprocessed CTCs witnessed a further fall in value. The selected clean and grainy brokens, however, were barely steady. HLL was barely active with limited trade enquiry forthcoming from Tata Tea, Eveready and other packeteers. Better liquoring CTCs were well-received by the western Indian markets. Other domestic buyers were also active intheir purchases.

In the dust section where 33,776 chests were offered and of which only 70 per cent was sold, prices moved down for all categories of teas. Clean liquoring better teas tended irregularly lower by Rs 2-3 per kg while the remaining teas declined even further by Rs 3-5 per kg. HLL lent fair enquiry. All other packeteers remained selective. Western Indian markets opted for liquoring lines while other domestic buyers absorbed cheaper descriptions.