LISTED agricultural concern Ariston Holdings (Ariston) plans to install a solar system at one of its tea plantations, Southdown Estate, to cope with Zimbabwe’s current power shortages.
The country has been experiencing erratic power challenges since last year, with power cuts of up to 19 hours per day, which has adversely affected businesses that have had to turn to expensive diesel generators.
“As you are all aware, Zesa is very unreliable and as a result, we are using huge amounts of diesel at the moment, but we are about to install a solar system at Southdown Estate, which means that two-thirds of our green leaf production will be processed in Southdown,” Ariston chief executive Paul Spear told The Financial Gazette on the sidelines of the company’s annual general meeting in Harare recently.
Spear highlighted that this year the company made some changes in its tea production, as it closed down one factory at Clearwater Estate and is moving the green leaf down to the Southdown Estate.
He, however, said that last year’s sales of tea were a bit of a struggle as there was a lot of disruptions in logistics around the world and the price of tea has not been strong for a while.
In its first quarter that ended December 31, 2022, the horticulture exporter witnessed a 102 percent growth in local tea sales volumes as demand from local customers improved.
Export tea sales for the period grew by 229 percent, driven by a recovery in the global economy from the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic and an improvement in global shipping shortages compared to the same period in the prior year.
The group is currently focusing on improving production processes and product quality, as it aims to drive its export sales volumes.
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