Buoyed by rising demand in countries like Russia, Tata Coffee’s instant coffee processing capacity is being ramped up by nearly 30 per cent to 8,400 tonnes by April.

“We are in the process of expanding our instant coffee processing capacity and by March-April 2013, we will be processing 8,300-8,400 tonnes annually from the existing 6,500 tonnes,” Tata Coffee Executive Director of Finance M. Deepak Kumar told PTI.

The instant brewed beverage operations of the company have been registering good growth, which is helped by demand from Russia and countries from West African region.

The company has two instant coffee manufacturing facilities, one at Toopran near Hyderabad and the other at Theni near Madurai in Tamil Nadu.

The company exports a major part of its coffee to Japan, South East Asia, West Africa, Russia and CIS countries among others.

On the target markets, Kumar said that Russia hold a lot of potential.

“The consumption of instant coffee in Russia is rising. The current consumption is about 70,000 tonnes per annum and it is rising. Another important thing is that there is an increased demand for quality coffee,” he said.

Another good market is West Africa, Kumar said, adding that it is expanding and holds a lot of promise for Tata Coffee.

The company produces more than 10,000 tonnes of shade grown Arabica and Robusta coffee at its 19 estates in South India and also exports green coffee to countries in Europe, Asia, West Asia and North America.

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