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Indian tea auction system (Kolkata, Guwahati, Cochin) Photo: placeholder pending image-fill pass

Indian tea auction system (Kolkata, Guwahati, Cochin)

The Indian public tea auction system, in operation since 1861 when the first Calcutta sale was held by the Bengal Chamber of Commerce, is one of the world's oldest agricultural auctions. About 45-50% of India's roughly 1,300 million kg annual production is sold through six Tea Board-licensed auction centres: Kolkata (the oldest, since 1861), Guwahati (1970), Siliguri (1976), Cochin (1947), Coonoor (1963) and Coimbatore (1980). Auctions are run by Calcutta Tea Traders' Association, Guwahati Tea Auction Committee, UPASI's auction body and counterparts at each centre, under Tea Board oversight.

Overview

Producers consign teas through Tea Board-registered brokers, who catalogue lots by garden, grade and invoice and publish printed/electronic sale catalogues. Each centre runs one principal sale day per week (Kolkata: Monday-Tuesday for CTC/orthodox/Darjeeling). Since 2010 all auctions have run on a Pan-India electronic platform (E-Auction) hosted by mjunction, replacing the traditional open-outcry "outcry" ring. Bids are entered remotely; lots clear at the highest bid above the buyer's reserve, with title transferring on payment within seven days.

Participants

  • Sellers: registered gardens (about 1,500 estates) plus thousands of bought-leaf factories.
  • Brokers: nine Tea Board-licensed broking houses (Carritt Moran, J. Thomas, Contemporary Targett, etc.) value, catalogue and provide post-sale services.
  • Buyers: domestic packeteers (Hindustan Unilever, Tata Consumer, Wagh Bakri, Goodricke), Indian wholesalers, and ~70 registered exporters serving Iran, Iraq, Russia, UAE, UK, Germany, USA and Egypt.

Auction-vs-private split by centre

  • Kolkata: CTC and orthodox from Dooars, Assam and Darjeeling; the price-discovery centre for premium long-leaf.
  • Guwahati: world's largest CTC auction by volume — about 150-160 million kg annually.
  • Siliguri: north Bengal CTC and Darjeeling.
  • Cochin and Coonoor: south Indian CTC and orthodox.
  • Coimbatore: south Indian CTC, bulk grades.

The remainder of the crop moves through private/forward sales and ex-garden direct-buyer contracts. The Tea Board's Tea Marketing Control Order (TMCO) 2003 requires a minimum percentage of each garden's output to be offered through auction to maintain transparent price discovery.

Price discovery and reporting

Each centre publishes weekly average sale prices by grade and producing region. Tea Board collates a Pan-India average — typically around ₹150-250/kg made tea for CTC and ₹350-1500/kg for orthodox/Darjeeling, with very high variation. Auction averages serve as the reference benchmark for garden invoicing, bought-leaf green-leaf price-sharing formulas, and small-grower payments.

See also: Tea Darjeeling First Flush Gi, Tea Assam Orthodox Second Flush Gi, Tea Orthodox Vs Ctc Processing, Tea Ctc Cut Tear Curl Process, Tea Camellia Sinensis Assamica.

References

  1. Tea Board India — Auction Statistics. https://www.teaboard.gov.in/
  2. Calcutta Tea Traders' Association. https://www.cttaindia.com/