Even as the demand and offtake, especially from exporters, has remained subdued since the Russia-Ukraine war broke out on February 24, the volume of tea offered for Sale No: 10 of the auctions of Coonoor Tea Trade Association to be held on Thursday and Friday has risen to among the highest of the recent weeks.

A volume of 17.66 lakh kg has been catalogued which is as much as 2.22 lakh kg more than the last week’s offer.

Although this includes teas remaining unsold in previous auctions, fresh arrival has picked up because of good harvest and production in February.

“The rainfall in the last week of January has shaped the February production favourably. Prolonged daylight hours and moderate temperature helped to increase the production by as much as 73 per cent compared to last year. Most agro-zones reported the highest productivity of the last 20 years,” KG Udaya Bhanu, Deputy Director of UPASI Tea Research Foundation, said.