The Hershey Company believes India has the potential to become a significant export hub if the government further eases tariff barriers for global food companies.

Senior officials from the global confectionary company, who were in India for the World Food India conference, have urged the government to look at ways to ease export-import tariff barriers.

Steven Schiller, President-International, the Hershey Company said: “We believe there is a huge potential to use the manufacturing set-up in India to export products to other markets. At the same time, we would like to use our multinational infrastructure to bring our international products to India, and rapidly learn which products receive good response. This will help us make deeper investments and grow our Indian business faster.”

The US-based confectionary company has more than 80 brands globally. In India, the company’s product portfolio includes Hershey’s syrup, Jolly Rancher confectionary, Sofit range of soy milk beverages and premium Brookside chocolates, among other brands such as Jumpin and Nutrine.

The company is keen to export products from India to other ASEAN markets, which have a similar taste profile, as well as pockets in West Asia which have a significantly large Indian population. “Right now, due to the tariff barriers, it is not conducive or viable to export our products from India,” he added.

Last week, the company announced its intention to invest $50 million in India over the next five years. The company said it will put these investments to build its brands, introduce new products, expand distribution footprint and strengthen its manufacturing infrastructure. Schriller said part of this investment will also be used to increase direct and indirect staffing by nearly 10 per cent.

India is one of Hershey’s key focus markets and has been witnessing double-digit growth in the past few quarters. “We are hopeful that this trend will continue,” he added.

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