Date:03/10/2008 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2008/10/03/stories/2008100362011700.htm

Business

New software to aid e-auction of tea

Staff reporter

Tea Board to launch e-auction

The software is developed by
NSE IT Limited
Coonoor accounts for 31 per cent
of total sales

KOCHI: e-auctions of Dust and Leaf tea will have a new design, now being implemented by NSE IT Limited in all the auction centres in North and South India, said J. K. Thomas, Chairman of Tea Trade Association of Cochin here at the annual general meeting of the Association on Tuesday.

He said that the Tea Board wanted to introduce the e-auction format in November and that e-auction, introduced some time ago had failed because it tried to replicate the outcry system on an electronic platform.

The software developed by NSE IT Limited is now available with all tea trade associations and NSE IT Limited will conduct familiarisation sessions on the new e-auction format in South India within a month, said Mr. Thomas.

Kochi, he said, continued to be the number one tea auction centre in South India with it accounting for 48.42 per cent of the tea sales.

Coonoor accounted for more than 31 per cent sales and Coimbatore nearly 20 per cent of the sales.

“The good governance of this Association has also played a big role in this achievement and all the stakeholders should be congratulated for this achievement,” he added.

The average price of tea in Kochi during 2007 was Rs. 56.05 as against Rs. 44.19 for Coonoor and Rs. 47.49 for Coimbatore.

The average price realised in South India during 2007 was Rs. 50.59 a kg whereas in North India the average price was Rs. 73.36 a kg.

South Indian tea production during the last year was 219.9 million kg against 226.28 million kg, a drop in production of 6.38 million kg, said Mr. Thomas.

North Indian tea production during the last year was 724.69 million kg against the previous year’s level of 729.62 million kg.

This was a decrease of 4.93 million kg.