Calcutta, March 14 :     The Longview Tea Company has sold the Phugri tea estate in Darjeeling to the Bagarias of AHW Steels. Phugri is the fourth tea garden that the company has sold in recent months. The other three gardens are Rohini, Avongrove and Longview Tea Estate. While Rohini was taken over by Sona Tea, Avongrove and Longview Tea Estate were sold to Avon Tea and Ambari Tea respectively, sources said. The Orange Valley is the only garden that Longview now has in the Darjeeling district. Confirming the deal, Longview managing director, P. K. Daga said the company was no longer interested in tea gardens at Darjeeling. 'We are finding it difficult to set our gardens in the hills of West Bengal on targeted growth levels. This is the reason why we have decided to come out of this region,' Daga said. Daga said that Darjeeling tea needed personalised care and attention, which is a tall order for corporates like Longview. 'It is individual garden owners who are thriving in Darjeeling, compared with the big corporates, because they can afford to give complete attention right from the production to marketing of the tea produced by them,' Daga said. Daga however refused to comment on whether Longview would totally come out of the tea business. 'The only thing I can say is that we don't have any interest in Darjeeling, where the tea is suffering both in terms of quality and quantity and is thus becoming a losing proposition for us,' he added. Daga said he was more interested now on his spinning business and is scouting for new business opportunities. S.S. Bagaria, managing director of AHW Steels which bought the Phugri garden, said the company viewed tea as a key area where it will concentrate in the coming years. Bagaria said negotiations were on to acquire two more gardens, one in Darjeeling and another in the Dooars. He has set up a company, Phugri Tea Estate Pvt Ltd, and all the tea gardens will be brought under its aegis. The Phugri tea garden situated in Mirik, currently produces around 1.5 lakh kg of tea, which commands a price of around Rs 2000 per kg.