Jungpana, queen of Darj tea gardens, may change hands

Sovon Manna | TNN | Mar 10, 2018, Kolkata: Three-and-a-half years after change of guard at the iconic Makaibari tea estate, news of another high-profile deal involving Jungpana and Goomtee tea estates is brewing in the Hills.

Industry sources told TOI that the Kolkata-based Kejriwal family that owns the two gardens is set to sell to another city-based tea planter, Sanjay Agarwal, who owns the Kacharigaon and Chandana tea estates in Assam and is the son-in-law of the Union minister of state for coal during the UPA regime, Santosh Bagrodia.

The transaction value is believed to be around Rs 20 crore. However, the buyer was not available for comment.

While the deal involves two gardens, the interest of the tea industry revolves around the smaller of the two estates — Jungpana — that has big clients like Harrods and Fortnum & Mason in the UK, Mariage Frères (a French gourmet tea company based in Paris), Fauchon (a French company) and the royal families of Britain and Japan.

For several years now, Jungpana has been in a fierce fight with Castleton for the top spot among Darjeeling teas. Unlike Castleton though, Jungpana tea is not available off the shelf and can only be purchased online or from local tea merchants in Kolkata.

In 1899, British planter Henry Montgomery Lennox planted the first saplings, and was succeeded by G W O’Brien, who guided Jungpana’s initial growth. After World War II, the tea estate was sold to the Rana family of Nepal and in 1956, the Kejriwals bought the garden.

Six decades later, indications are that the estate with an annual produce of 60,000kg premium tea will get a new owner. Shantanu Kejriwal, the current owner, acknowledged talks for sale of Jungpana tea estate have been on for the past few years but refused to divulge anything further.

“I cannot confirm anything. It is true that most garden owners in the Hills have been trying to sell. Huge cost of production, unavailability of skill labour, political turmoil and erratic weather are killing our business. I will sell if I get a good price,” he said.

Ashok Kumar and Shantanu Kejriwal’s cousin Harsh Kejriwal own the larger Goomtee Tea Estate that produces 80,000kg tea annually. Kumar said he was not aware of any such development. “We are running the garden despite various concerns. But everything is normal at our end. To my knowledge, there is no selloff. I don’t believe in market rumour,” he said.

Darjeeling tea estates have been having a lean run in recent years due to high costs, absenteeism and weather. Jungpana ran into rough weather last year with the Gorkhaland agitation crippling its attempts to get the crop from the second flush and ship it to exclusive clients in the East and West.

Three years prior to that, it had to suspended work indefinitely in 2014 following threats to officials by a section of workers.