Colombia’s President Says PepsiCo Will Invest US$1 Billion Over Five Years
COLOMBIA · INVESTMENT
Key Facts
- —The country Colombia, where President Abelardo de la Espriella took office in August and is courting foreign capital.
- —Why it matters Colombia is PepsiCo’s third-largest business in Latin America, after Brazil and Mexico, and one of the country’s biggest industrial buyers of potatoes.
- —What happened On Sunday 27 September the president wrote on X that PepsiCo had told him it will invest US$1 billion in Colombia over five years.
- —The numbers About US$200 million a year, against US$158 million the company says it put into its Colombian plants over the past five years.
- —What it means for you A signal that big consumer brands are betting on the new government, and more contracts for farmers who grow potatoes, plantain and maize.
- —Still open PepsiCo has not published its own statement. Plants, regions and job numbers have not been given.
Colombia’s president says the American food and drinks group PepsiCo will spend US$1 billion in the country over the next five years. The PepsiCo Colombia investment was announced by Abelardo de la Espriella on X on Sunday 27 September, Portafolio and La República reported.
“PepsiCo has announced to me an investment of 1 billion dollars in Colombia over the next five years,” he wrote. He said the money would expand production, modernise operations and strengthen distribution.
What the president claimed
De la Espriella framed the pledge as a vote of confidence. “Trust is shown by investing,” he wrote, adding that it supports more than 2,000 farmers and Colombia’s small corner-shop owners.
The trade minister, Mauricio Gómez Amín, said he was sure such decisions “will multiply,” Forbes Colombia reported. Vice President José Manuel Restrepo linked it to the government’s recent investor trip to New York, according to Portafolio.
That trip is where ministers pitched a portfolio of 176 projects, covered in Colombia Pitches 176 Projects Worth Over US$150 Billion to New York Investors.
How big PepsiCo already is in Colombia
Valora Analitik, citing company figures, reported more than 3,800 staff, seven distribution centres and two factories. The plants are in Funza, near Bogotá, and Guarne, near Medellín.
Its brands, including Margarita crisps, Doritos, Quaker and Gatorade, reach more than 400,000 shops. La República and Minuto60 reported that it buys about 84,000 tonnes of potatoes a year.
Spread evenly, the pledge would be about US$200 million a year. Valora Analitik reported the company invested US$158 million in its Colombian plants over the past five years.
The farm angle
The announcement follows talks with the Ministry of Agriculture. Valora Analitik reported that on 6 September the ministry and PepsiCo agreed an agenda to raise the quality of the potatoes, plantain and yellow maize the company buys.
Rival Coca-Cola is also preparing a plan, reported in Coca-Cola Colombia Investment Plan to Be Unveiled in December in Barranquilla.
What Is Not Yet Known
The figure so far rests on the president’s post. By Monday afternoon PepsiCo had not issued its own statement, and none of the reports quoted the company.
For the PepsiCo Colombia investment, there is no breakdown between factories, machinery, logistics and supplier programmes. The number of direct jobs and the regions that will benefit have not been disclosed either.
More: Colombia news in English, every day from The Rio Times.
Frequently Asked Questions
What did Colombia’s president announce about PepsiCo?
On 27 September he wrote on X that PepsiCo had told him it will invest US$1 billion in Colombia over five years.
Has PepsiCo confirmed the investment?
Not yet. The company has published no statement, and no plants, regions or job numbers have been given.
How big is PepsiCo in Colombia?
Colombia is its third-largest business in Latin America, after Brazil and Mexico; it says it put US$158 million into its Colombian plants over the past five years.
What does it mean for farmers?
Potentially more contracts for growers of potatoes, plantain and maize — PepsiCo is one of the country’s biggest industrial buyers of potatoes.
Sources: Portafolio · Portafolio (reactions) · La República · Valora Analitik · Forbes Colombia · El Tiempo · Minuto60
In depth
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