Cadbury India, part of global giant Mondelēz International, on Wednesday signed a MoU with the government of Andhra Pradesh for setting up its largest manufacturing facility in the Asia-Pacific region in the state.
The 134-acre plant in Sri City, Chittoor, will be commissioned in four phases with investment for the first phase being Rs1, 000 crore will be functional by mid-2015.
"The whole project is expected to be completed by 2020 and the plant, in the end state, will have an annual capacity of 2.5 lakh tonnes," said Manu Anand, president, India and South Asia, Mondelez International and managing director, Cadbury India, said, adding that the plant will contribute to 50 per cent of their total production of Cadbury India.
Mr Anand added that India is among its top 10 markets globally.
"We are happy with our progress in India and will grow at same pace, he said, continuing that this plant will mainly support the domestic requirement. If the production is surplus, then we will look at exports" he said.
The company already has six plants in Himachal Pradesh, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh and Andhra Pradesh.
Cadbury India operates in five categories -- chocolate confectionery, beverages, biscuits, gum and candy. In the first phase, according to Mr. Anand, the company will primarily make chocolates and later, expand to other categories in the other phases of the project.
After signing the MoU, Chief Minister N. Kiran Kumar Reddy said that the plant set up in Chittoor district is going to help four lakh farmers through procurement of milk and sugar.
"The company will require about 5 lakh litres of milk per day in the first phase and 2 lakh litres per day in the second phase. Meanwhile, 100 to 200 tonnes of sugar per day."
The procurement of milk for the Cadbury India plant, according to the chief minister, will also stabilize prices of milk in the district and stop cartelization by private players.
The manufacturing plant is expected to provide employment to about 1,600 people in its end, the company said, adding that it will continue to bring out new products.
