Coca-Cola to set up plant in Sri Lanka

The Dollar Business Bureau 

The American beverages leader Coca-Cola has expressed its intention of setting up a production unit in Sri Lanka in order to cater to the high demand of the Indian market, according to the information provided by the Sri Lankan finance ministry on Monday. 

The plans of the company were revealed during the country visit of its Asia Pacific chiefs who met the Sri Lankan Finance Minister Ravi Karunanayake over the weekend. 

According to the officials, Sri Lanka has the potential to be turned into a production hub to re-export their products to India.

The Indian market has the highest demand for Coca Cola products in the South Asian region. The Atlanta-based company has an array of offerings including Sprite, Thums Up, Coca-Cola, Limca, Fanta, and juice-based drinks like the popular mango drinks Maaza, Minute Maid and packaged water and Kinley soda.

A day ago Hindustan Coca-Cola Beverages (HCCBL) the bottling arm of Coca-Cola India had revealed that it is setting up two greenfield plants at Nellore and Ahmedabad with an investment of Rs.1000 crore. With this the total number of bottling plants in India could go up to 28. The company also has plans to set up a plant with an investment of Rs 750 crore in Hoshangabad, Madhya Pradesh.

Last year HCCBL had suspended manufacturing at a few of its Indian plants which the company spokespersons say was done to establish a supply chain that meets the demand pattern in a changing landscape that is vastly different from the one when the company originally set it up in 1997-98.

 As per the Indian Beverage Association, which is constituted by firms with direct and allied interests in the non-alcoholic beverage industry, the beverages market in India is said to to be worth $5 billion.