New Delhi: A senior company official mentioned on Tuesday that the Lulu Group, based in the UAE, plans to boost the amount of Indian agricultural purchases to Rs 15,000 crore in the next two years while also expanding its global presence. The company's Chairman and Managing Director, M A Yusuff Ali, informed journalists that they intend to prioritize organic food sourcing, with the potential for the value of these goods to reach Rs 2,000 crore in a year.
We are importing agricultural products worth around Rs 10,000 crore every year. He mentioned that they aim to raise it to Rs 15,000 crore in two years as they are also growing their presence in multiple countries. He mentioned that imports mainly consist of items like fruits, vegetables, rice, tea, sugar, spices, and millets, which are shipped to the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries and other Asian nations.
Ali mentioned that his team has partnered with the Indian government-backed Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority to boost the percentage of organic product purchases. He mentioned that the company plans to initially import up to Rs 2,000 crore of organic produce from the country in a year and then increase it to Rs 4,000 crore the following year.
He mentioned that the group from the UAE is seeking partnerships with farmer producers in smaller villages as well. The company is putting in Rs 500 crore to establish a logistics hub, along with cold storage, in Noida, with plans to get it up and running in the next two to three months. He mentioned that a food plant in Kashmir is at the final stages of construction and will be officially opened in 2-3 months. Ali refused to provide a comment on his opinions regarding regulations surrounding multibrand retail in the country.
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