[Brazil] Coke Femsa To Build Brazilian Plant

Mexican soft drinks bottler Coca-Cola Femsa recently announced plans to build new bottling plants in Colombia and Brazil. The company has proposed to its shareholders that new factories be built in the S American countries because the existing factory in Belo Horizonte, Brazil, is running at close to 100% capacity. Coca-Cola Femsa's CFO Hector Trevino said: "The existing plant in Belo Horizonte no longer meets our needs and we're paying higher freight costs." Colombia is a priority market for the beverage company, although market conditions have been challenging. Sales for Q1 fell by 8%, attributed to bad weather and the company has been prevented from raising prices by tough competition.