New Delhi, May 26, 2009: Bharti Enterprises in partnership with Del Monte Pacific Limited today launched an exclusive range of international Del Monte products including fruit drinks, packaged fruits, ketchup & sauces, and a range of Italian products in the Indian market. More than 100 years old, Del Monte is one of the largest and best known food product brands globally.
The Joint Venture also announced plans to set up a greenfield facility near Hosur to produce a range of Food & Beverage products for the Indian market. The Joint Venture will make an initial investment of about Rs. 100 crores towards setting up this facility, which is expected to start operations in 2010.
Speaking at the launch, Mr. Rakesh Bharti Mittal, Vice Chairman & Managing Director of Bharti Enterprises said “We are delighted to bring Del Monte to India. This is a significant milestone for the company as we make our entry into the processed food and beverage segments. India’s fast expanding economy, evolving consumer needs, and the emergence of organised retail offer tremendous opportunities for growth. Our plan to bring in significant investment to set up a modern production facility underlines our commitment to the development of the processed foods sector in India and our intent to emerge as a leading player.”
The Del Monte product range will include:

• Fruit drinks: Pineapple fruit drink with pulp, Pineapple Orange fruit drink, and Four seasons fruit drink (Pineapple, Mango, Orange and Guava)
• Packaged fruits: Pineapple Slices, Pineapple Tidbits, Prunes,  Fiesta Fruit Cocktail, Whole Kernel Corn and Peach Halves
• Ketchup &  Sauces: Tomato Ketchup, Tomato Chili Sauce
• Italian Range: Range of dry Pasta, table Olives and Olive Oil

Speaking to the media Mr. Joselito D. Campos, Jr, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Del Monte Pacific Limited said, “We take great pride in being associated with a company like Bharti which will help us establish a strong foothold and penetration in the Indian market. Our endeavour is to provide world class products in all our markets including India and we have taken the first steps into the Indian retail market with a clear vision of capturing the consumer’s imagination with our range of innovative products. Indian consumers will be able to experience international quality products, for which Del Monte is known the world over. We look forward to leveraging our skill and knowledge and also draw from the experience that Bharti has gained in creating a great business in India. ”
By the end of this year, the Del Monte range of products will be available in markets across India in Delhi (NCR), Mumbai, Chennai, Hyderabad, Pune, Bangalore, Chandigarh, Ahmedabad, Goa, Dehradun, Amritsar, Ludhiana, Jalandhar, Jammu and Jaipur.
Mr. Sanjay Nandrajog, CEO of FieldFresh Foods Pvt. Ltd. (the joint venture company between Bharti Enterprises and Del Monte Pacific Limited) said, “We are geared to break new ground in the food and beverage market in India. Besides establishing a strong retail presence, we plan to leverage growth avenues in the B2B segment. I am optimistic that our plans will propel us to become a leading player in this segment and be one of the top ten food and beverage companies in India by 2014.”

About Bharti Enterprises:
Bharti Enterprises is one of India’s leading business groups with interests in telecom, agri business, financial services, retail and manufacturing. Bharti has been a pioneering force in the telecom sector with many firsts and innovations to its credit. Bharti Airtel, a group company, is one of Asia’s leading providers of telecommunications services with operations in India and Sri Lanka spanning Mobile services, Telemedia services and Enterprise services. Bharti Airtel has been voted as India’s most innovative company, in a survey conducted by The Wall Street Journal. Bharti Teletech is country’s largest manufacturer and exporter of telephone terminals. Bharti has a joint venture with Del Monte Pacific Limited - FieldFresh Foods Pvt. Ltd - to offer fresh and processed fruits and vegetables in the domestic as well as international markets. Bharti has joint ventures with AXA, world leader in financial protection and wealth management, for life Insurance, General Insurance and Asset Management. Bharti has retail business under a company called Bharti Retail. It also has a joint venture – Bharti Wal-Mart-with Wal-Mart for wholesale cash-and-carry and back-end supply chain management operations in India.

About Del Monte Pacific Limited:
Listed on the Mainboard of the Singapore Exchange, Del Monte Pacific Limited (Bloomberg: DELM SP/ Reuters:DMPL.SI) is a group of companies that cater to today’s consumer needs for premium quality, healthy food and beverage products. It innovates, produces, markets and distributes its products worldwide.

In the Philippines where the Group owns the Del Monte brand, it enjoys leading market shares for canned pineapple juice and juice drinks, canned pineapple and tropical mixed fruits, tomato sauce, spaghetti sauce and tomato ketchup, and also markets products under its second-tier brand, Today’s.

Del Monte Pacific also holds the exclusive rights to produce and distribute food and beverage products under the Del Monte brand in the Indian sub-continent.

The Group also owns 41.1% of FieldFresh Foods Pvt Ltd (www.fieldfreshfoods.in). FieldFresh Foods Pvt Ltd markets Del Monte-branded processed products in the domestic market and Fieldfresh-branded fresh fruits and vegetables globally and locally. Del Monte Pacific’s partners in FieldFresh Foods Pvt Ltd are the well-respected Bharti Enterprises and EL Rothschild Limited.

Del Monte Pacific owns the S&W brand (www.swfinefoods.com) for all markets except the Americas, Australia and New Zealand. The S&W brand originated in the USA in 1896 as a producer and marketer of premium quality processed fruit and vegetable product.

With its 20,000-hectare contiguous pineapple plantation in the Philippines, 700,000-ton processing capacity and a port beside the Cannery, Del Monte Pacific operates the world’s largest fully-integrated pineapple operation. It is proud of its long heritage of more than 80 years of pineapple growing and processing. It has long-term supply agreements with other Del Monte trademark owners and licensees around the world.

Del Monte Pacific and its subsidiaries are not affiliated with other Del Monte companies in the world, namely, Del Monte Foods Co. (USA), Fresh Del Monte Produce Inc. (USA), Del Monte Asia Pte. Ltd. and these companies’ parent or subsidiaries.

Del Monte Pacific is 78.5%-owned by NutriAsia Pacific Ltd (NPL). NPL is owned by the NutriAsia Group of Companies which is in turn majority-owned by the Campos family of the Philippines. The NutriAsia Group is the market leader in the liquid condiments, specialty sauces and cooking oil market in the Philippines. Its flagship brands, led by UFC, have more than 80% market share in the local ketchup and hot chili sauce categories.