For the first time, McLeod Russel India Limited, the world' single largest producer of tea, is poised to cross the production level of 100 million kg (mkg) this year.

“We hope to achieve this year a production of 104 mkg, which will be close to our capacity”, Mr Aditya Khaitan, Managing Director of the company, told Business Line , here on Tuesday. “Last year we produced around 96 mkg”.

This is year's production, as he pointed out, would be achieved despite small shortfall in Ugandan production due to unfavourable weather in that part of the world.

“Our Uganda gardens this year will produce around 15.5 mkg as against 16.5 mkg last year but the drop in Ugandan crop will be more than compensated by the production in Rwanda, about two mkg”, he said. Last year no Rawandan crop was available to the company. An additional 4.5 mkg would be available from Vietnam. The balance quantity of 82 mkg or so would be produced domestically. McLeod's gardens are all located in North India, mostly in Assam and a few in West Bengal.

Mr Khaitan sounded bullish about the company's performance this year. “If the present situation is any indication, we've reasons to feel optimistic not only about production but also prices both within the country and outside”, he said pointing out that the average domestic price so far had been up by about Rs 15/kg.

Export prospects, too, appeared good, thanks to the crop loss in Kenya owing to bad weather. Till April, the shortfall in Kenyan crop was around 35 mkg, likely to rise to 55 mkg by the end of this year. The period from May to August being winter months were dry months. “No wonder, the average auction price at Mombassa has been up by 50-70 cents/kg so far as compared to the same period of last year”, he observed.

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