BRASILIA: Mexico’s Coca-Cola FEMSA is looking to move forward with a $200 million investment to increase operations in Brazil. Coca-Cola FEMSA is already Brazil’s top soft drink bottler.
Fox News Latino reports the investment will be dedicated to “logistics, new production lines, plant automation and expanded distribution in Minas Gerais and Parana, the states where its operations are concentrated.”
This move may come as a surprise for some as the Brazilian soft drink market was down in 2014 and does not show much promise for 2015 either. This announcement also came after the company reported fourth-quarter growth that remained flat at 0.3%, which was negatively affected on top of that by a decline in regional currencies, as reported by FoodBev.com.
Taxes remain an issue for beverage companies in the country. In response, Coca-Cola FEMSA’s top executive in Brazil, Jose Ramon Martinez, said, “The tax burden in Brazil is very heavy.” However, along with this investment comes a new tax regime for beverages that will go into effect in May 2015.
