Guwahati, Aug. 30: Amalgamated Plantations Private Limited (APPL), a tea major, has suffered a loss of Rs 85 crore in the last three years.

Speaking at the tenth annual general meeting of the company today in Calcutta, APPL chairman Ranjit Barthakur said three consecutive years of adverse results have made# it imperative that goals and deliverables get reprioritised and the company dedicate its focus on the emerging realities.

Apart from higher production-linked expenditure there were higher spending on pesticides and food grain procurement, delay in introduction of National Food Security Act, medical and social infrastructure, which led to losses.

The company has 25 gardens in Assam and Bengal with a total workforce of 31,000.

Giving an overview of the tea industry, he said the industry is at the crossroads. "Tea, as a beverage, faces unforeseen challenges for "throat share" vis-à-vis other alternatives. Choices and preferences are evolving fast with economic development and exposure to developed countries through digital and social media. We are focusing on wide-ranging innovations to help recreate the relevance of tea. Despite all these efforts, we do not find tea prices improving significantly," he said.

The average price realisation for the company dipped to Rs 144.23 per kg in 2017 as compared to Rs 150.56 per kg in 2016.

At the back end, newer entities like small tea growers (STGs) and bought leaf factories (BLFs) are emerging. "Such a scenario calls for urgent interventions from the regulated tea growers (RTGs) like us, who work under the corporate model, for sustainable growth of the industry. It would be prudent to see these changes as opportunities rather than threats to strengthen our business model and thus, remain relevant," he added.

He said all over the world, STGs and BLFs are successful as low cost producers. "To compete with them and remain profitable, we, as corporates, have to consistently recalibrate our operating strategies and cost bases. The reason is simple, the dynamics affecting us are quite onerous when compared to the compliances and obligations of the small tea growers, which have fast-changing weather patterns, swiftly deteriorating land terrain and ageing of the leaf producing plants. A higher level of statutory compliances and obligations to provide our workforce sustainable living environments, which cater to personal well-being, add to cost," he added. Barthakur said the lesson he learns from the price movement in various quality brackets is that "only quality will pay". "Therefore pursuit of quality should be a duty of single-minded devotion," he added.