Assam tea target 30 per cent growth in export

Kolkata, Apr 15 (UNI) Assam Company Limited has embarked on a masssive expansion program to improve its export market by at least 30 per cent during the next one year.

Announcing the company's export plan during the current fiscal Assam Company Director and Chief Financial Officer Abhay Chowdhry here today told UNI that the company, which produces 16 million kgs of CTC tea in its 16 gardens in Assam, has set a target to export 6 million kgs of its total production to the US, UK, Japan and Geramny and was planning to make deep forays into the Russian and other CIS markets where the CTC tea from Kenya and Sri Lanka had made great penetration.

Asked about his plan to export Assam tea to neighbouring Pakistan which had decided to import Indian tea to the tune of about 30 million kgs this year, Mr Chowdhry said, since Pakistan was still considered to be a virgin market for the Indian tea producers they were exploring every opportunity that was coming on their way.

''We have already made necessary appplication to the Tea Board for allowing us to export our prooducts not only in Pakistan but also in Egypt, which was also emerging as one of he largest market for Indian Tea.'' Regarding their plan to revamp the production of the ACL gardens, Mr Chowdhry asid they had already started renewed plantaton in at least four per cent of every garden areas, where new plantation had already been started.

Asked about the Assam Company's diversification program into the on-shore underground oil exploration business, Mr Chowdhry said at present production of crude oil had aready begun in two wells at Amguri Blocks in Northwest Assam where 400-500 barrels of oil were being produced from each of these two wells and were being sent to the oil refineries in the state.

Furthermore, he said reserves of substantial quantity of oil had been located in three locations under AON 7 Blocks in the state where at present final testing was being conducted by the Assam Company Limited in collaboration with its joint venture partner Canora of Canada.

''We are expecting a positive result from these tests soon, following which, the real exploration would begin expectedly from next year.

Incidentally, ACL today launched a chain of tea-bars in different parts of the city and was planning to open a one-stop tea boutique ehere various tea-based recipes, tea snacks and specialty teas like Earl Grey English breakfast, Italian fiesta, White Peony, Rossettes and Japanese Green Tea would be provided to make these outlets as one of a kind store the city has never seen before.

He said the total number of these tea bars and tea boutiques would be more than 20 before this year end when they would also go to other cities and towns in different parts of thwe country including New Delhi, Mumbai, Hyderabad, Chandigarh, Ranchi and Jamshedpur by end of 2008.

UNI