Harare Bureau
ARISTON Holdings almost doubled its revenue for three months to December 2020, largely due to sharp increase in sales across major products, the company said yesterday.

Ariston, a diversified listed producer of horticultural products, saw turnover rising by 98 percent compared to the same quarter in the prior year, shrugging off the devastating effects of Covid-19, with most sales coming from tea, bananas and maize.

However, Covid-19 had an impact on stone fruit as significant volumes were sold at a discount.

The group’s revenue is predominantly in foreign currency and analysts say Ariston, like many other exporters continue loosing on the back of exchange losses.

There is a disparity between market exchange rate of 120:1 US dollar on the parallel market and the official auction exchange rate of 83.37. This 37 percent discrepancy results in massive taxation on the exporter of 120-83.37 for every US dollar that the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe compulsorily liquidates.

Last month, the central bank raised the mandatory liquidation threshold on export earnings to 40 from 30 percent, but scrapped the 60-day period exporters are compelled to sell for local currency unused export receipts.

“The (exchange) rate has widened and exporters are probably operating with 40 to 50 percent of their real income…nearly half of the money is gone through exchange losses,” said one analyst with a local research company. “The money is liquidated at official rate but the supplies that you are going to get are pegged at 120.”

Tea volumes rose 941 tonnes from 821 tonnes due to favourable climatic conditions while a wetter season resulted in 65 percent jump in banana production.

While macadamia output was lower in three months to December, higher yields of matured nuts is expected in the next harvesting season, which begins in March.

Poultry business is run on an out grower model on behalf of a local producer in Zimbabwe and there was an increase in production during the period under review.

All estates remain operational during the lockdown period as they are classified as essential services. Harvesting and production remain on course, the company said.

Cost containment continues to be a priority going forward. The impact of Covid-19 pandemic is expected to have minimal impact on the group’s performance and the management is looking for a “more favourable” financial result for 2021.

Ariston owns Claremont Estate in Nyanga, a leading producer of apples, stone fruit, passion fruit and potatoes.

Claremont became a certified seed potato producer under the auspices of the Zimbabwe Potato Micro Propagation Association during 2012 and is now one of the biggest certified seed potato producer in Zimbabwe.

Kent Estate is a diversified producer of certified seed potatoes and a variety of horticultural crops including all year round tomatoes, pepper, peas (mangetout and sugarsnaps) and fine beans. With large tracts of land under row crops such as maize and soya beans, Kent contributes, in a way, to national nutrition and food security.

The contract poultry production project at Kent is perhaps one of the biggest operations in Zimbabwe.

In Chipinge, Clearwater Estate has the largest hectarage of mature macadamia orchards in the country. Clearwater also produces tea and has a small crop of avocados.

All macadamia sales are centralised at Clearwater Estate; which also produces the increasingly popular ristonuts for local market. The three macadamia estates in Chipinge and Chimanimani make Ariston the largest producer of the nuts in Zimbabwe.

Roscommon Estate produces the world — acclaimed niche red tea wanganella — in the Chimanimani.

With potential for increasing contribution from macadamia and potato, which are of excellent quality, Roscommon is expanding the production of these key crops.

Southdown Estate is the flag-ship tea producer for Ariston. Currently over 65 percent of Ariston teas are exported primarily to Europe, the US and increasingly to India and Africa.

Clearwater, Roscommon and Southdown, combined, make Ariston the third largest tea producer in Zimbabwe.

There are increasing plantings of macadamia, banana and potato crops at Southdown Estate for both local and export markets.