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Nandini Goswami
Calcutta, Apr 22: Eveready Industries India Ltd of the Williamson Magor group has recently concluded the acquisition of Jaybirpara tea estate in the Dooars area in West Bengal. The purchase of the garden forms part of the company's strategy to expand its core area of operations.
Top Magor sources told The Financial Express that the company's recent acquisition would increase production from its Dooars gardens substantially. The source, however, did not disclose the amount paid for the garden.
The acquisition of Jaybirpara tea estate from SV Mohta-controlled Gold Brew Agro Industries Ltd would add to the company's six existing gardens in the Dooars.
Jaybirpara tea estate, spread over an area of approximately 211 hectares, happens to be close to Bhatpara tea estate in the central Dooars region. The other gardens of the company in the Dooars are Central Dooars tea estate, Chuapara, Jainti, Matelli, Mathura and Bhatpara.
The last two were purchased over the last two years. Mathura and Bhatpara were boughtfor a total consideration of around Rs 24 crore and these two are expected to raise the overall production by almost two million kg.
Industry sources said that the Magor group had been planning to acquire gardens in the Dooars area for some time now and Jaybirpara and Dheklapara tea estates were on the list.
However, according to sources among tea traders, the Magor group was not after the Dheklapara tea estate and Jaybirpara was a better choice. Apart from Jaybirpara tea estate, the SV Mohta group owns gardens in Assam through its another company, Bhaskar Tea Company.
Eveready has 23 gardens spread over Assam and West Bengal within its fold and produces over 23 million kg of tea annually.
According to the sources, Eveready's tea division may post a larger production figure and higher profits for 1998-99 compared to the previous fiscal.
One of the largest producers of bulk tea, Eveready has also geared up its packet tea business in recent times. It is striving to reach the number three position inpacket teas in the next two years.
It also plans to launch its `Tez' brand in West Bengal and the southern states shortly after doing fair volumes in Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan. This was in keeping with the adoption of competitive strategies to ensure that the brands carved out a reasonable share in the packet tea segment, the source said.
The company, which is primarily a bulk producer, plans to do over 10 million kgs solely from its packet tea brands such as Tez and Premium Gold. This would be done by leveraging on its widespread distribution network.
The exemption of the eight per cent excise duty on packet teas and rising sales in the popular segment has prompted the company to extend its market to other states as well. The company has undertaken modernisation and expansion of the packet tea factory at Chaupara in Dooars to cater to the increasing demand.
The eastern market had still the lowest packet tea sales compared to the rest of India, but as the packet tea market hadincreased its canvas in the past few years, there was scope for an entry, the source said.
Meanwhile, while increasing its tea and battery business the company has as part of a restructuring process resorted to debt-restructuring by substituting high-cost debt through low-cost loans over the past two years.
Copyright © 1999 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.
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This story was printed from Net Express located at http://www.expressindia.com. Net Express provides a portal to India, with news from The Indian Express and The Financial Express along with sites on travel and tourism, the entertainment industry, the power sector, the environment and much more.
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