Cadbury receives $16 million election sweetener

Mondelez International has received a $16 million pledge from opposition leader Tony Abbott to help fund a $66 million upgrade of its Hobart Cadbury factory.

According to the opposition leader, the co-investment will increase productivity and exports, will create more than 300 new jobs and will also boost Tasmania's dairy industry.

Though it is unusual for Federal Government to invest tax payer funds into individual commercial operations, Tasmania was a special case, because of its high unemployment and low wages, according to Tony Abbott.

The $66 million upgrade to the Claremont chocolate plant is expected to significantly increase Cadbury's production capacity and require an extra 6000 dairy cows in the region to supply milk.

Cadbury was bought by Kraft Foods, now known as Mondelez International, in 2010, and its historic Claremont plant is said to be the largest chocolate factory in Australia and the southern hemisphere.