'Brief' auction 'disruption'

After a ‘brief disruption’ last week, flue-cured tobacco auctions had resumed in Andhra Pradesh, India, according to a story in the Hindu Times relayed by the TMA.
It was not stated how long the brief disruption lasted nor what had cause it.
It could, for instance, have been down to a technical problem, but, earlier in the year, growers, worried at the slow pace of sales, called on the Chief Minister to hold a meeting with traders.
And the disruption could have been about prices, because that has happened before. Overall, prices are said to be two percent above what they were last year, while prices in the West Godavari district are down.
According to Tobacco Board figures, growers have this year sold 85 million kg of flue-cured at an average price of Rs134.66 (US$1.96) per kg.
At the same point of last year’s sales, growers had sold 95 million kg at an average price of Rs132.00 (US$ 1.92) per kg.
According to the Times, high-grade leaf produced in the northern light soils region of West Godavari is currently being sold at an average price of Rs149 per kg (US$ 2.17) compared with Rs151 (US$ 2.20) per kg last year, while low-grade leaf is being sold below Rs80 (US$ 1.17) per kg.
Flue-cured deliveries are expected to reach 127 million kg, lower than the authorized crop size of 136 million kg.
Auctions are expected to end in September.