Cadbury to invest Rs1,000 crore in Andhra Pradesh

Cadbury India, a part of Mondelez International, the American multinational confectionery, food and beverage company spun out of Kraft after its acquisitrion of Cadbury Scweppes, has decided to invest more than Rs1,000 crore in India by setting up the largest chocolate manufacturing plant in the country.

The plant, to be be set up at Sri City, Andhra Pradesh, will also be the company's largest manufacturing plant in Asia Pacific, the company said in a statement yesterday.

It has signed an agreement with Sri City on taking 134 acres of land on lease. The project completion has four phases, with first to be ended by mid 2015 and the final completion by 2020.

According to experts, the selection of Andhara Pradesh by the US multinational giant is a good news for foreign investors in the midst of the complaints by them on the worsening business environment in the country..

Anand Kripalu, Mondelez international president, India and South Asia, said that as a priority emerging market for Mondelez International this investment will build on the success in India till date and will richly ensure the long term business sustainability.

The vast food campus is expected to create 1600 close direct jobs by 2020. Moreover, the confectionary market is expected to rise with an average of 12 per cent to 15 per cent per annum in next couple of coming years.

In June this year Indian authorities had accused the UK-based Cadbury Plc for evading $46 million (Rs252.5 crore) in taxes by producing confectionary at a shell factory in Himachal Pradesh which don't actually exist. (See: Cadbury accussed of Rs250- cr tax evasion via dummy plant)

The company currently has manufacturing plants in Himachal Pradesh, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh and Andhra Pradesh.

This investment establishes Sri City as FMCG and food industry's choice of destination. Moreover, to meet the insisting requirements of the industry, the location and infrastructure are plus points said the managing director of Sri City, Ravindra Sannareddy.