Tea Price Report (Week 35 – Aug. 23-29, 2025)

This is the Tea Price Report for Week 35, ending August 29, 2025.

Tea Price Report

Tea Price Takeaways

  • Premiums steady on quality: Mombasa PF1/BP1s and Colombo’s high-growns continued to attract premiums, though overall demand was selective. | Van Rees
  • Inflation signals diverge: India’s CPI lows ease domestic retail, while EU shelf prices remain sticky, and the US ‘beverage materials’ CPI stays high. | MoSPI | CSO Ireland | BLS
  • Volumes heavy, withdrawals rise: Large offerings in Mombasa saw withdrawals back above 35%, reflecting pushback on plainer leaf. Colombo catalogues are also heavy. | Africa Tea Brokers
  • Cost pressures linger: Sri Lanka’s wage adjustments and higher logistics costs keep exporters cautious into Q3. | Daily FT
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Podcast Transcript

India — Retail inflation remains subdued, supporting softer shelf prices. Auctions in Kolkata and Guwahati showed steady-to-softer averages, while direct trade stayed muted.

East Africa — Mombasa offered heavy volumes this week, with withdrawals climbing above 35%. Quality PF1s and BP1s drew firm interest, but plainer leaf struggled.

Sri Lanka — Colombo catalogued heavy volumes. High-grown BOPs held firm with premiums, but wage and logistics costs continue to weigh on exporters’ margins.

Indonesia — Jakarta auctions saw light offerings. Orthodox North Sumatra teas remained firm-to-dearer, but direct overseas purchases were minimal.

That’s your Tea Price Report — Week 35.

For expanded coverage and occasional charts, visit https://teajourney.pub/tea-price-report/week-35-aug-23-29-2025

India

  • Retail prices (consumer): India’s CPI trough continues (1.55% y/y in July). FMCG packers kept shelf prices steady-to-softer. | MoSPI
  • Wholesale (trade sentiment): Packaged tea majors maintained cautious list pricing, citing margin pressure. | Reuters
  • Auction: Kolkata CTC average ₹236.8/kg, Guwahati ₹217.5/kg, both marginally softer. | Tea Board of India
  • Direct buys: No new direct trade flagged. Packers remained selective. | Economic Times

East Africa

(Kenya, Malawi, Rwanda, Tanzania, Burundi, Ethiopia, Madagascar, Uganda, Zimbabwe, Mozambique, Democratic Republic of Congo*)

  • Retail prices (destinations): Pakistan’s SPI (week ended Aug. 21) shows “tea prepared” +0.28% w/w. | Pakistan Bureau of Statistics
  • Wholesale (trade sentiment): Demand steady for PF1/BP1, premiums for clean leaf; plainer types weaker. | Van Rees
  • Auction (Mombasa): Sale 34 (Aug. 26) offered 162,000 pkgs. Withdrawals rose above 35%. PF1s sold at firm-to-dearer rates. | Africa Tea Brokers
  • Direct buys: No significant off-auction trade disclosed. | Lanka Commodity Brokers

Sri Lanka

  • Retail prices (destinations): Ireland CPI (July) shows ‘Tea’ +2.3% y/y; shelf tags remain firm. | CSO Ireland
  • Wholesale (costs & sentiment): Wage adjustments and logistics costs continued to weigh on exporter sentiment. | Daily FT
  • Auction (Colombo): Sale 33 (Aug. 26–27) catalogued ~6.1mn kg. High Growns USC 5–10 dearer, Uva seasonal teas USC 15–20 higher. | Sri Lanka Tea Board
  • Direct buys: Private Sale Figures near 200,000 kg, steady interest from Middle East packers. | Lanka Commodity Brokers

Indonesia

  • Retail prices (destinations): US CPI ‘beverage materials incl. coffee & tea’ remains +8.6% y/y in July, firming orthodox pricing into North America. | BLS
  • Wholesale (trade sentiment): Jakarta brokers noted fair demand for North Sumatra orthodox, plainer Java discounted. | Van Rees
  • Auction (Jakarta): ~4,100 pkgs on offer; 20% unsold. Better orthodox types USC 5–10 dearer. | Van Rees
  • Direct buys: No new overseas programs noted. Buyers remained hand-to-mouth. | Van Rees

Tea Price Forecasts

  • Global composite prices softening: YCharts’ world tea price indicator averaged $2.77/kg in August, down 2% m/m, signaling weaker baseline demand. | YCharts

  • Export outlook mixed: Trading Economics projects global tea prices to remain in the $2.70–$2.80/kg band through Q4, with volatility tied to South Asian weather and African supply. | Trading Economics

  • Premiums remain selective: Van Rees notes that while PF1/BP1s and orthodox high-grown lines continue to fetch premiums, buyers show little willingness to extend coverage beyond immediate needs. | Van Rees

  • IMARC long-term view: IMARC Group expects the global tea market to expand at ~4% CAGR through 2030, with growth driven by value-added formats (RTD teas, specialty orthodox). Near-term, subdued bulk pricing will persist. | IMARC

Note: AI algorithms make mistakes. Generated with ChatGPT3

Tea Price Report Archive

Week 36 (Aug. 19 – Sept. 5)
https://teajourney.pub/tea-price-report/week-36-aug-30-sept-5-2025
Week 35 (Aug. 23-29)
https://teajourney.pub/tea-price-report/week-35-aug-23-29-2025/
Week 34 (Aug. 16-22)
https://teajourney.pub/tea-price-report/week-34-aug-16-22-2025/
Week 33 (Aug. 9-15)
https://teajourney.pub/tea-price-report/week-33-aug-9-15-2025/

*The Mombasa Tea Auction is the world’s largest black tea auction and one of the few that is uniquely international. It handles teas not only from Kenya, which supplies about 60–65% of the volumes, but also from Malawi, Rwanda, Tanzania, Burundi, Uganda, Mozambique, Zimbabwe, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Ethiopia, and Madagascar. The average annual volume ranges from 450 to 520 million kilograms. Mombasa is the only auction center in the world trading straight-line teas from more than one country.

Dan is publisher, podcast host, and blogger. He is a frequent speaker at industry seminars and conferences (virtual and in-person). Dan was the first editor and publisher at World Tea News, worked as editor and publisher of Tea Magazine and managing editor of STiR coffee and tea. His work appears online and in many magazines. In 2016 he organized the collaborative group of tea journalists and experts who founded Tea Journey magazine and in 2021 he launched the Tea Biz podcast. He began his publications career in 1974 as a newspaper reporter.