Stressed tea estates in north keen to use land for other crops, real estate

Faced with spiraling cost of production and competition from bought leaf factories (BLF), estate holders in north India are exploring the possibility of converting a part of their plantation land for activities other than growing tea to contain falling profitability.The Indian Tea Association (ITA) has decided to appoint a consultant to study the alternatives for the large estate holders to control falling profitability, while retaining the existing labour force. Sources said possibilities such as horticulture as well as building supermarkets, theatres and other commercial real estate projects are being thought of. Officials belonging to large tea estates said that while they have to sustain a higher cost of production, the small tea growers (STGs), who usually send their produce to the BLFs, incur about 50 per cent lower cost of production. With tea prices remaining more or less flat, the estates have started to incur losses. Commodity Trading Tips

McLeod Russel, the world's largest tea producer reported a 35 per cent decline in operating EBITDA at Rs 110.44 crore during the year ended March 31, 2017, while its top line dipped by three per cent to Rs 1,870.82 crore. Warren Tea reported a loss of Rs 15.17 crore during the previous year against a marginal Rs 4.58 crore profit in the 2015-16 period. Jay Shree Tea & Industries' bottom line shrunk by 53.74 per cent to Rs 24.46 crore during the last fiscal year. Officials said rising cost of production, depreciation of plant and yield per hectare as well as their commitment towards labourers' social security such as housing, rations, education and others (as per Plantations Labour Act, 1951) are straining the estate tea sector across the country and are gradually making tea "unsustainable to produce". Astrology and Numerology Trading Tips