Tanganda to increase tea production

A late winter cold spell and shortages of plucking labour resulted in a 3 percent decline in tea production but Tanganda Tea Company’s sales for the year ending September still increased by 472 percent.

Now the company wants to increase both the number of outgrowers and the area planted to tea at an increased pace.

Sales brought in $28.3 billion with $22 billion coming from exports. The company’s turnover for 2002 was only $5 billion with exports contributing $3.8 billion.

Operating profit soared from $2.6 billion to $21 billion with net profit at $18.1 billion, up from $2.3 billion the previous year. Tea production dropped to 10 700 tonnes.

The company offered assistance to over 600 small-scale outgrowers. It is now planning to increase the number of outgrowers and to increase the area planted to tea.

Coffee production dropped from 400 tonnes to 371 tonnes.

The company is now replanting marginal coffee areas with macadamias. It was due to plant 50 hectares of macadamias by the end of January.

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