In a major boost to the state’s seafood export sector, multinational conglomerate Lulu Group opened its processing and export hub in Aroor, Alappuzha. Industries Minister P Rajeeve inaugurated the facility on Monday. The venture sets the stage for a revolution in the state’s seafood sector, by lending a helping hand to fishermen, the minister said. Lulu Group chairman M A Yusuffali said fishermen will be the biggest beneficiary of the mega project. “The hub will pave the way for fisherfolk to get a better price and create more job opportunities for skilled workers,” he said.
Marine Products Export Development Authority (MPEDA) chairman Dodda Venkata Swamy, group executive director Ashraf Ali M A, directors Salim M A and Muhammad Althaf, COO Salim V I, MD and CEO of Lulu Financial Group Adeeb Ahamed, and Lulu Fair Exports CEO Najumudeen Ibrahim spoke at the event.
The state-of-the-art centre was established at a cost of Rs 150 crore and is equipped with the most modern facilities. This is the first fish processing unit of the group in the state.
Apart from processing raw seafood, the facility will produce many value-added products such as squid rings, buttered shrimp and shrimp salad. In the initial phase, 2,500 metric tonnes of processed seafood will be exported every month to over 250 Lulu hypermarkets in the Gulf, Egypt, Indonesia, and Malaysia. In the next phase, new markets such as the US, the UK, Europe, Japan, South Korea, and China will be covered. The centre, which will function 24 hours a day, will provide direct and indirect employment to more than 800 people.
Lulu Group’s Fair Exports India division exported fruits, vegetables, spices, fish, and meat worth Rs 6,200 crore in the last fiscal. It aims to hit Rs 10,000 crore in the current financial year.
The group is one of the main exporters of food and consumer goods from India. Headquartered in Abu Dhabi, UAE, it runs its flagship retail chain of Lulu hypermarkets and supermarkets and food processing units in GCC countries, Egypt, Malaysia, and Indonesia.