North India Tea Auction Prices Fall Up to 17%
Kolkata and Guwahati averages fell between Sale No. 26 and Sale No. 34, and Siliguri over a similar stretch, even as flood and heat damage cut the North Indian crop.
Average CTC tea prices fell at all three North India auction centres between late June and mid-August, with Kolkata down about 17% between Sale No. 26 and Sale No. 34.
The declines run against the crop. North Indian output has been falling since July, and a supply shortfall would ordinarily support prices at auction rather than depress them. Neither report identifies a cause for the divergence.
At the Guwahati Tea Auction Centre the average CTC price fell from Rs 264.89 per kilo (about US$3.19) at Sale No. 26 to Rs 221.57 at Sale No. 34, a decline of about 15% in under two months, The Assam Tribune reported. Kolkata's average fell from Rs 291.27 to Rs 238.77 over the same two sales, a drop of about Rs 53 per kilo, or 17%, The Shillong Times reported. The Shillong Times put Siliguri's average at Rs 201.80 per kilo at Sale No. 27, falling to Rs 182.30 by Sale No. 34, a decline of about 8%.
Both reports attribute the damage to flooding in Assam, excessive heat, and pest infestation and disease, with plantations submerged and crop output affected.
"A grim reality is unfolding in Assam and West Bengal's tea industry," said Shailja Mehta, president of the Tea Association of India.
North India produced 16 million kg (about 17,600 US tons) more tea in January to June than in the same period of 2025, a gain of 5%, The Assam Tribune reported. July output across TAI member estates then fell about 8%, with a similar decline estimated for August, leaving the region's crop projected to finish August about 8 million kg below the prior year. Exports for January to June were 23 million kg lower than a year earlier, a fall of 18%.
The combination leaves estates selling a smaller crop into a weaker market, which The Shillong Times described as a liquidity crisis in the industry.
Sources: Tea prices fall 15% at Guwahati auction centre amid Assam flood impact, The Assam Tribune, 2026-08-28; Sharp fall in tea prices at auctions leads to liquidity crisis in tea industry, The Shillong Times, 2026-08-28.