Palm | Kelapa Sawit

indian rubber prices june 9 2011, india agriculture commodities - Harrisons Malayalam to ink Africa deal in 3-4 months: To acquire 10,000 hectares, invest Rs. 400-500 crore in the deal. Sees its FY12 tea exports rising 56%, production 12%. Sees FY12 rubber output stable, prices firm. Mumbai: Tea and rubber producer Harrisons Malayalam , an RPG Group company, is planning to announce a plantation deal in Africa in three-four months, a top official said on Thursday.

Harrisons, which is India’s largest rubber producer and south India’s biggest tea maker, plans to acquire about 10,000 hectares of land and invest Rs. 400-500 crore in the deal.

“We are in the due diligence process. We are assessing the political risk which is what is taking a bit of time but in the next 3-4 months, we will make the announcement,” Pankaj Kapoor, managing director, said on the sidelines of the Centrum Investor Conference.

The plantation land will be used for rubber, tea and oil palm, Kapoor added.

In India, Harrison has invested about Rs. 70-75 crore in replantation over the past three-four years. It expects its replanted rubber plantations to yield its first crop in 2012.