INDIA – UAE-based multinational conglomerate company that operates a chain of hypermarkets and retail companies Lulu Group has announced plans to set up a US$53m (about Rs 400 crore) food park in Kerala, India.
The announcement was made by Lulu group Chairman Yusuffali MA during annual food and beverage trade exhibition, Gulfood’22 being held in Dubai World Trade Centre.
“As part of strengthening its own food processing centres in India, Lulu will invest Rs 400 crore for setting up a state-of-the-art food park in Kalalmassery in Kerala,” Lulu said in a statement.
The UAE-based retail major expects the Kerala project to be operational by the fourth quarter of 2023.
LuLu Group is also set to open its seafood processing and export hub in the State at Aroor by April. The export-oriented centre will come up at an investment of ₹150 crore (US$19.97m).
Apart from processing raw seafood, the new facility will also produce value-added products like squid rings, buttered shrimps, shrimp salad, etc, according to a release issued here on Friday.
About 2,000 tonnes of processed seafood will be exported monthly to more than 220 LuLu hypermarkets across the Gulf, Egypt, Indonesia, and Malaysia as per the proposed plan.
The group will explore markets in the US, UK, Europe, Japan, Korea and China in the next phase.
Last month, the Lulu Group signed an MoU with the Jammu and Kashmir government that pledged an investment of Rs 200 crore (US$26.6m) to set up a food processing and logistic hub in Srinagar.
Lulu also recently reported that it has imported the first consignment of Indian eggs since they were banned from entering the UAE 15 years ago.
The consignment comprising of four containers is reported to have reached Lulu stores in the Arab country.
Lulu Group currently has 220 hypermarkets and shopping malls in the Middle East, Egypt, India, Malaysia and Indonesia with a global workforce of over 57,000 employees.
In India, the Lulu group already has four operational shopping malls at Kochi, Thrissur, Trivandrum and Bengaluru.
The mall at Bengaluru is not owned by the Lulu group but it is managing and operating the property.
In December, the Lulu group announced an investment of Rs 2,000 crore (US$266.2m) near Ahmedabad to set up a modern shopping mall.
It has also announced an investment of Rs 500 crore (US$66.57m) to set up a food processing plant in Greater Noida, Uttar Pradesh.
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