KOLKATA, India (NNN-Bernama) -- One of India's leading petrochem and major tea companies has bought two tea estates for 1.21 billion rupees (US$22 million) in the south eastern African country of Malawi.
This is for the first time that the Kolkata-based tea compnay, Dhunseri Petrochem & Tea Ltd (DPTL), has made an entry in the overseas tea plantation business, Xinhua news agency reported.
With this takeover, DPTL has joined the elite club of Indian tea companies like Tata Global, McLeod Russel India and Jay Shree Tea & Industries which have made their foray in foreign tea plantation business.
DPTL chairman C.K. Dhanuka said: "We have been scouting for tea estates in Vietnam and Africa. After several rounds of negotiations with Global Tea & Commodities, we have been able to clinch the deal."
The tea estates of Makandi and Kawalazi in Malawi produce nearly 9 million kg of tea annually with yield around 4,000 per hectare.
"There are two factories in the estates for processing tea. The teas are exported to countries like Russia. Our Singapore subsidiary Dhunseri Petrochem & Tea Pte will own these tea estates in Malawi," said Dhanuka.
Dhunseri has been in the tea industry for half a century in India.
With 10 tea estates and three leaf factories, the company produces 12 million kg of tea annually and sells packet teas in India's northern state of Rajasthan, where the company is a leading player.
"We want to expand our plantation business both in India and abroad," Dhanuka said.
Indian tea companies prefer to acquire tea estates in Africa and Vietnam as the cost of production is much lower thanks to cheap labour. -- NNN-BERNAMA
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