Mondelez opens its largest plant in Asia Pacific at AP’s Sri City

Mondelez India Foods, the Indian arm of the $30-billion Mondelez International, on Monday opened a new plant in Sri City, its largest manufacturing facility in Asia Pacific. Andhra Pradesh chief minister N Chandrababu Naidu inaugurated the plant on Monday.

Built at an investment of $190 million, the multi-category food campus is expected to reach an annual production capacity of 2.5 lakh tonnes by 2020.

"The multi-category food campus is expected to reach an annual capacity of 2.5 lakh tonnes of production in three phases by 2020, and employ over 1,600 people in five years," Chandramouli Venkatesan, managing director of Mondelez India, said on the sidelines of a function at the new plant.

In the first phase, the plant will produce about 60,000 tonnes of Cadbury Dairy Milk chocolate annually. The company also plans to use the plant for export production later.

"Going forward, the company will make this manufacturing facility a hub for exports in Asia," Venkatesan said.

The manufacturing plant was inaugurated by Andhra Pradesh

"Mondelez International's investment in Sri City has brought in world class technology and manufacturing capability, creating jobs and strengthening communities," AP chief minister Chandrababu Naidu said while inaugurating the plant.

"The company already has significant commitment to the state and has been partnering with farmers to grow cocoa in Andhra Pradesh over the last two decades," he added.

He urged the company to draw up a plan to partner the state to increase production capacity of inputs like milk and cocoa in the state and also to set up an R&D facility there.

Mondelez said in India the company is already partnering over 1 lakh farmers across four states, to domestically procure about 40 per cent of its cocoa requirements.

India is a priority market for the global food giant and the company is investing more in brands and marketing to drive growth, Daniel Myers, executive vice president, integrated supply chain at Mondelez International, said.

"We have already invested in 40 manufacturing 'Lines of the Future' globally and are building our 'Sites of the Future' at strategic locations like Sri City to accelerate the growth of our power brands," Myers said .

The Sri City facility is spread over 134 acres. Mondelez India also operates manufacturing plants in Himachal Pradesh, Maharashtra, Karnataka and Madhya Pradesh.

The Indian chocolate market, which was worth Rs5,800 crore in 2014, is expected to reach Rs12,200 crore by 2019, according to market research firm ValueNotes. Cadbury has a 60 per cent share of that market.

An average Indian shopper currently buys around 100g of chocolate a year, while a typical UK shopper buys as much as 10kg, Brusadelli estimated. ''This implies there is huge opportunity here.''

Industry analysts said there is enough scope for Mondelez to expand in India.