The Hindu Business Line : Rossell Tea diversifying to other areas

Kolkata, April 23 Rossell Tea Limited is looking into more opportunities in non-tea business, particularly aero-tech services. “A beginning has already been,” said Mr C.S. Bedi, Managing Director of the company, adding, “we intend to set up maintenance centres for supplying components and spare parts, all imported, for the aircraft”.

Right now the size of aero-tech services was small, around 10 per cent of the company’s turnover of about Rs 50 crore, but was likely go up in coming years. Mr Bedi however declined to give any figure, saying it was difficult to estimate precisely the growth of the service industry. He made it clear that the company’s foray into non-tea operation would in no way affect the tea business which was growing.

Rossell Tea’s current production is about 4.4 million kgs annually from a total five gardens, all located in Assam. “An estimated 82 per cent of our production is orthodox variety,” Mr Bedi said indicating that about 14 per cent of the production, all orthodox, was exported.

The production is likely to rise to 4.7/4.8 million kgs by 2012-13 following the uprooting and replantation programme being done for the past few years.

An estimated 277 hectares, representing about 12.6 per cent of the total planted area of about 2200 hectares, has been uprooted and replantation undertaken in 231 hectares. Further uprooting and replantation is on the anvil.

“We’re now using better clones because quality in production comes from the quality initiatives undertaken in the field,” Mr Bedi said , adding, “We’re focussing on production of more of quality tea”.

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