The Hindu Business Line : Tata Coffee plans tie-up with Uganda for new brand

TATA Coffee proposes to float a marketing joint venture with the Ugandan Government to create and promote a new coffee label. At present, Tata Coffee is in the process of setting up a Rs 50-crore, 3,600-tonne instant coffee plant in Uganda.

"The Ugandan Government has agreed in principle to float a joint venture to create a new brand," said Mr M.H. Ashraff, Managing Director, Tata Coffee. The company will market the instant coffee produced from its proposed Ugandan unit under the new brand.

The Uganda Government now owns a brand called Crane, named after the country's national bird. Some Chinese roasters, who sell the Ugandan coffee under that label in China, now use the Crane brand. "We are trying to get the Crane brand name itself but are also open to have a new name," he added.

Tata Coffee has been allocated 50 acres by the Ugandan Government at Jinja, about 60 km from Kampala, for the new unit, Mr Ashraff said. He added that work on the project would start in early October and completed within nine months. The new unit is being set up jointly with Tata Africa, part of Tata International, which handles all South African projects.

Uganda, one the most backward countries in South Africa, is relatively stable compared to other nations, and its exports enjoy a special status from countries such as the US, the European Union, Russia, and Japan, among others.

Tata Coffee expects to source all its raw coffee requirements locally. It may also leverage its Ugandan operations to foray into the Chinese market. "A sizeable quantity of Ugandan coffee is currently sold in China, which has emerged as one of the big coffee consumer, through a joint venture," Mr Ashraff said.

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