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Created: 04 October 2019

JAMMU: A delegation of Lulu Group led by A V Ananth, Director- Oman, India and Srilanka, Rejith Radhakrishnan comprising Regional Director, Zulfikar Kadavath, Head of Procurement and Najmuddin, Director-India visited Jammu to discuss investment opportunities especially in Agro and food processing with Department of Industries & Commerce.

The meeting was attended by Ravinder Kumar, MD, JKTPO/ SIDCO and Anoo Malhotra, Director, Industries & Commerce, Pawan Singh Rathore Director Agriculture Jammu,  Altaf Andrabi, Director Agriculture Kashmir, Shafat Sultan MD JK HPMC, senior officials of J&K Government and representatives of business houses and trade associations.

AV Ananth gave a formal introduction of the visiting team and the lulu group, which is a global giant in retailing with annual turnover of USD 8.5 billion. More than 55,000 employees with 80% Indians spread across 180 hyper markets are serving 1.6 million customers on a daily basis, he added.

The meeting was also attended by various members of business and trade associations like PMark, Kanwal Spices, Herb Heaven, Fruit Master, Shalimar Carpets. During a series of discussions held, MD JKTPO/ SIDCO, Director-Industries, Jammu explained to the group the overall scenario in Jammu and Kashmir in various sectors like Agriculture, horticulture and food processing.

Director Agriculture Kashmir also spoke widely on the scope of rice, vegetables, fruits, dry fruits, pulses and saffron and benefits of investing in these sectors in J&K. Business houses present in the meeting explained and displayed their product samples to the Lulu group. The Group is also planning to open procurement office at Jammu and Srinagar to facilitate the suppliers/ vendors.

Director-Lulu Group proposed a week-long campaign to promote the products from Jammu & Kashmir across their stores in Middle East. The group also dwelt on a proposal regarding the idea of two business models of export; either the business groups will send their products to Mumbai or directly export to Dubai.

The Lulu group committed to send their specialized procurement teams from various sectors for the next course of action, taking the opportunities further and also discussed the recruitment of local youth for the store operations.

The Lulu group appreciated the products displayed by the vendors and immediately confirmed the shipments of Saffron and Apples from the Herb Heaven and Fruit Master Agro fresh Pvt. Ltd respectively. Anoo Malhotra, while addressing the meeting, said that the retail industry will be encouraged to sustain and expand in Jammu and Kashmir. Pertinently, this exhaustive meet was the result of visit PM and Union Ministry of Industries & Commerce to Dubai in August.