History of Ceylon Tea

Sri Lanka’s Hatton Plantations to build more tea factories

ECONOMYNEXT – Sri Lanka’s Hatton Plantations PLC plans to build more tea factories as it seeks to take advantage of its standalone position and focus on its core business after being separated from Watawala Plantations.

The company intends to maximise on the opportunity which affords it total focus on the production of high quality tea for domestic and international markets, chairman Sunil Wijesinha has said.

“Expecting a quantum leap in the production of high quality tea, fit for our international and domestic markets, we can now synergise our efforts to make our operating theme a reality,” he told shareholders in the company’s annual report.

Hatton Plantations was incorporated in September 2017 to carry out the existing upcountry tea business of Watawala Plantations.

Hatton Plantations is 75.65% owned by Estate Management Services (Private) Limited, a joint venture in which Sunshine Holdings PLC has 60% and Pyramid Wilmar Plantations (Private) Limited 40%.

Wijesinha said its joint venture partner’s input in the area of modern technology is invaluable for operations across the company.

“Building on this platform, we plan to establish state-of-the-art factories in all our estates,” he said.

Hatton Plantations currently is involved in cultivation and production of tea from 14 estates located in the Central Province of Sri Lanka with over 5,000 hectares of arable land at elevations reaching 4,800 feet above sea level.

Operating as a stand-alone company has certain benefits, the company said.

“Chief among them is that HPL can synergise all its efforts at producing premium quality tea, fit for international and domestic markets,” the report said.

“As its stand-alone position allows us to focus purely on production of tea, we currently produce over thirty-five different grades.”

Source - http://economynext.com/Sri_Lanka%E2%80%99s_Hatton_Plantations_to_build_more_tea_factories-3-10859.html