Guwahati: The 92-year-old Korangani tea estate, one of the oldest gardens in Assam, has changed hands.

A source said the deal has been settled and the garden has been handed over to Green Assam Private Company Limited, which has two gardens in Dibrugarh district.

Korangani, situated at Rajgarh in Dibrugarh district of Upper Assam, has its own tea packet brand, Korangani, a household name in Assam.

"We have got a good price for our garden in the present market scenario," a source in Korangani tea estate said. The garden has been sold for an estimated price of Rs 25 crore.

The source said tea business was becoming unviable for them. He said their main problem was the low price realised on leaf available in the market because of its inferior quality. The garden produces 11 lakh kg tea, of which its own crop is 6 lakh kg while the rest is bought from the market.

The buyer, Green Assam, said they would have to work hard over the next two years to get returns from the garden.

The development comes in the wake of 12 gardens of McLeod Russel in Upper Assam being sold to two companies, M.K. Shah Exports and Luxmi Tea, for Rs 472 crore, which is one of the biggest sale deals in tea sector in recent years. The gardens of Assam Company are also under the hammer.

A tea industry official said the future will belong to gardens that get very good prices and can do a lot of marketing.

Another official said the cost of production has been rising fast while prices remain subdued and unsupportive, making tea production unviable for producers.

"Unless the prices being realised by the tea producers improve and provide adequate margin to cover costs and investments, it would be extremely difficult for the industry to remain sustainable," the official added.