GUWAHATI: Guwahati Tea Auction Centre (GTAC) in order to defeat the adversity caused by COVID-19 pandemic related lockdown, is all set to launch online tea trading from Wednesday.
Sale no. 27 of the Guwahati Tea Auction Centre (GTAC), scheduled to start on July 1 next amid the current lockdown, is going to be the first of its kind as the entire sale will be ‘a work from home experience’ for each and every stakeholder involved, be it a buyer or a broker.
“Never in the history of tea auctions across the globe has a sale been conducted in this manner. As usual, GTAC leads the way yet again to set up the perfect example on how to move ahead even if faced with difficulties,” said the Secretary of the GTAC.
The prices achieved at GTAC between Sales 13 to 26 this year have been attractive with an average price of INR 225 per kg of tea sold as against an average of INR 148 for the same period in the previous year.
“In fact, in Sale No. 26 last week we achieved an average price of INR 265 as against an average of INR 157 for the same sale last year,” the GTAC official said.
“In this sale also we expect to create new records and achieve new heights with the help of the commitment of each and every stakeholder of GTAC. The quantity on offer at GTAC Sale No. 27 is 4.55 million kgs and we expect approximately 180 buyers bidding for the same. It has always been an endeavour of GTAC to provide the best tea selling and buying platform and we diligently work towards achieving that single goal,” he said.
Guwahati Tea Auction Centre (GTAC) which was set up on September 25, 1970, is the largest CTC tea auction centre in the world. Around 250 tea buyers are registered with the GTAC which last year carried out auction of about 180 million kg of various categories of tea.