Assam Chai Bazaar held its maiden tea auction in Dibrugarh on Friday to ease digital tea trading and bring it closer to Upper Assam's major tea-producing region. The brokerless digital platform is designed to connect tea producers directly with buyers and improve transparency in tea trading.
The auction was attended by Tea Board India Executive Director Arunita Phukan Yadav, former Tea Board chairperson Prabhat Bezboruah, Assam Tea Planters Association chairperson Samudra Prasad Barooah and representatives of Assam Chai Bazaar.
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Yadav asked the auction centre to strictly follow Tea Board India rules and national auction guidelines. Assam Chai Bazaar held its first official auction just two months after receiving its Auction Organiser Licence from the Tea Board on July 18, 2026.
The auction received participation from 18 buyers, although Hindustan Unilever Limited and some other buyers could not participate because of technical issues.
The organisers said the response and price discovery were encouraging. In the CTC Leaf category, 175 lots containing 1,48,531 kg of tea were offered. Around 61.33% of the quantity was sold at an average price of ₹206 per kg. In the CTC Dust category, 83 lots containing 74,693.5 kg were offered, with around 63.16% sold at an average price of approximately Rs 210 per kg. The combined average price across the two categories was about Rs 207 per kg, as per The Times of India.
Representative of Assam Chai Bazaar Deven Singh described the overall response and prices as “extremely encouraging”.
The platform was launched online in August 2026 with the aim of reducing transaction costs for tea producers and improving efficiency and transparency in tea trading. It has received a Tea Board licence to conduct public auctions of CTC, orthodox, green and speciality teas.
The producer-promoted platform aims to connect more than 600 registered tea estates and bought-leaf tea factories with buyers across India. Its promoters have also established warehouses in Dibrugarh and Guwahati to support tea auction and storage operations.
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