Interesting times with global demand persisting despite summer in the Northern hemisphere and Ramadan in the Islamic community. Mombasa had a fair session at steady to firm rates for BP1 & PF1 but easier for a good weight of PD / D1. The crop and auction figures were favorable which adds to a sentiment of limited upward and downward potential. Blantyre had no auction and is fortnightly now so whatever tea is available will continue to sell well on the back of strong demand. Colombo behaved much as expected with HG selling dearer and LG types wobbled due to uncertainty in the Middle East the main factor. Jakarta surprised us by its strength and though levels look hard to sustain, buyers continue undeterred & are driven by low seasonal supply. In the North Indian centers, better tea & orthodox varieties performed well, while in the south the season progresses with tea in tight supply which drives prices up. We expect all of this to continue much the same in short to medium term until crop manages to catch up to an extent which will allow markets to take a breather before taking off again for winter.

North America is still hot with very little going on. UK / EU interest was about maintained. The Pakistan packers were more active in Mombasa and their types gained towards the end of the sale. The Bazaar & Afghan trade upped their buying when prices didn’t ease as expected, whilst Egypt buyers were more active from the start with some stock buying taking place. Sudan continued active on all BP1 but prices look toppy with room to ease in coming weeks. Kazakhstan showed more interest with Russian moderate. Yemen continued much the same, as did Somalia. In India demand for orthodox teas remains strong, while CTC were a bit more irregular, though better types stayed strong. Packer activity stood out in North India.

In India the monsoon continues well in the north and July crop is on par with last year. In the south there is rain, but crop is lagging behind. Conditions in Kenya remain largely dry with occasional showers. Crop is seasonally low. Malawi is still dry with a drop of rain here and there. The temperature is slowly warming up, but without water there will be no significant crop in the foreseeable future. In Sri Lanka most planting districts experienced bright weather with some isolated rain. Crop showed a decline in most medium and high areas, while crop in low grown districts increased. In Indonesia dry conditions prevail in Java while Sumatra was largely overcast but also dry. Vietnam has been cool & wet in the aftermath of a recent typhoon.

This sounds true:-

“The wisest of people in this world are those that admit when they are wrong.”