Wagh Bakri Tea aims for 20 pc sales jump this fiscal

Gujarat-based Wagh Bakri Tea Group today said it is aiming for over 20 per cent rise in overall sales at Rs 1,000 crore in the current fiscal on the back of faster growth from newer markets in North India.
"We are targeting to achieve Rs 1,000 crore sales this year, as against Rs 832 crore in 2013-14 fiscal," the Group's Executive Director Parag Desai told PTI.
The company's sales growth has so far come from traditional markets -- Gujarat and Rajasthan. "But we are expecting additional growth this year from North India, especially Delhi and Haryana," he said.
In South India, the company currently has presence in Chennai and surrounding areas. However, it plans to expand its market in Telangana and Andhra Pradesh next year, he added.

Maximum sales are expected from CTC tea segment. It also sells tea bags and premixes in different flavours.
Amid a study report by NGO Greenpeace of pesticide content in packaged tea, the Group has tied up with the government's Tea Board and producers' organisation for creating awareness among growers about sustainable pest management practices.

"Though the company is not owner of any tea garden, we have tied up with the Tea Board to support and collaborate research and education awareness pilots in minimising and if possible avoiding use of chemical pest management," he said.
A pilot project, to begin in Assam and West Bengal in one hectare tea garden from next season, will demostrate the novel approaches for herbal and non-chemical agronomic crop protection management aiming at a holistic rejuvenation of eco-system to control pests, he said.

Wagh Bakri Tea Group, the country's third largest packaged tea company, distributes over 30 million kg of tea both in the domestic and foreign markets.