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India-Based Tata International Plans To Expand Into Angola, Ethiopia

India-Based Tata International Plans To Expand Into Angola, Ethiopia

Tata International Ltd, the trading and distribution arm on Mumbai-based Tata Group, plans to expand to at least two more African countries, including Angola, Ethiopia and Uganda, this year.

The group, which trades in a diverse number of products, already has presence in 12 countries on the continent including in South Africa, Kenya, Ivory Coast, Nigeria, Tanzania, Zambia, Zimbabwe and Uganda.

“In 2016 we will be entering Angola in the West and Ethiopia in the Eastern side.

“We will have agri trading, both imports and exports, to begin with, in these markets,” Ajay Mehra, executive director at Tata Africa Holdings (Tanzania) and head of non-auto distribution at Tata International, told PTI.

Set up way back in 1962, Tata International (TIL)’s key business verticals are sale of leather & leather products, trading in metals & minerals, distribution of auto and allied products, agri-trading (both imports and exports), trading and distribution of industrial chemicals, distribution of drugs & medical devices and IT services along with group company TCS.

TIL also sells footwear and apparel brands, trailer manufacturing, and manufacturing precision metals and plastic .

Its African subsidiary is focusing on the agri commodities segment to grow its business on the continent after achieving a significant market penetration in the infrastructure — automobile, construction equipment and farm equipment — and health sector.

According to The Herald, the company plans to make investment in setting up processing units for exporting pulses from Tanzania, which is the largest producer of the crop in Africa.

“We are now exporting pulses from Tanzania, which are well accepted in India. We are working with farmers to help them improve their productivity,” Mahra said.

“Apart from pulses, we are exporting sesame and cashew nuts. We are looking at coffee out of Uganda,” he added.