Tata Coffee plans to set up Rs 40 cr Vietnam plant

He said the plant would have a capacity to produce 3,000 tonne of instant coffee per annum.

"We are actively considering a plant in Vietnam, which is one of the largest producers of coffee in the world. It would make good business sense to set up a plant there," Ashraff said. However, he declined to provide the details of the timeframe for take-off of the venture.

Tata Coffee had earlier announced its plan to set up a plant in Uganda with an estimated investment between Rs 25-30 crore, having a capacity of 3,600 tonne.

Ashraff also said the company has entered into a tie-up with Tata Motors to supply fire retardant and noise reducing plywood to buses made by the latter for export.

The company will use its rich silver oak timber resources for the same, he added.

Tata Coffee also plans to extend the vanilla cultivation at its coffee plantations to 200,000 vines by the end of the current fiscal, he said.

Expanding the coffee vending machine chain is another thrust area of business identified by the company.

"We have now 7,000 vending machines and we plan to increase it to 10,000 machines by the end of the year," Ashraff said. Meanwhile, the company has no plans to exit the plantation business, Ashraff said Friday.

He said this in response to a query by reporters at a press conference that Tata Tea, a group company, is leaving plantations to focus on packaged and value added tea business.

"There is no such plan," Ashraff said.

Tata Coffee is the largest coffee plantation company in Asia, with 23 estates spread mainly in the Coorg district of Karnataka.

Tata Tea implemented the first phase of its exit plan from plantation business in south India early this month. The company divested 16 of its estates in Kerala to a new company named Kannan Devan Hills Plantations Co Ltd.