Kashmiri apples to be exported to Middle East

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The famed Kashmiri apples are being exported to the Middle East market. The LuLu Group, which runs more than 180 hypermarkets and shopping malls across the Middle East, has ordered 10 containers (200 tonnes) of three apple varieties on October 19, a company spokesperson said.

This initiative is the direct result of meetings held during the recent visit of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to the UAE, where Yusuffali M A, LuLu Group chairman and prominent NRI businessman, shared his willingness to procure Kashmiri agricultural produce and set up a logistics hub in Srinagar for uninterrupted supply, the spokesperson said.

Apart from apples, LuLu Group has also placed orders for saffron and would soon be sourcing rice, walnuts, pulses and spices from Kashmir, the spokesperson said.

"This shipment of 200 tonnes is actually just the first lot, we expect this to increase in the coming days. Soon, we will be having a 'Kashmir Promotion Week' in our Lulu hypermarkets to popularize the high-quality agriculture produce of the state, which I am sure will further boost the export and trade sector in Kashmir," Yusuffali said.

The first shipment is slated to reach UAE shores by the end of the month and would be available in LuLu hypermarkets shelves in the first week of November 2019.

A high-level delegation, led by A V Ananth, director of the group, along with procurement experts, personally visited various farms and processing units to oversee the packaging and shipment process.

This followed many rounds of meeting and discussion they had with top officials and growers in Kashmir.