Amazon-backed More Retail planning grocery stores in UP

Virendra Singh Rawat

Lucknow / Feb 2, 2021

Amazon-backed food and grocery retailer More Retail is planning to launch supermarkets in different districts of Uttar Pradesh.

The company is looking to enrich the agricultural produce supply and value chain with the proposed foray in the state, which is among the largest producers of agricultural and horticultural crops in India.

Interestingly, this comes in the backdrop of the protests by farmers against the new farm laws, which Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) ruled states have dubbed as pro-farmer and one which will provide an alternative to the farmers to sell farm produce.

Recently, More Retail director Paurush Roy has called upon UP agriculture minister Surya Pratap Shahi, soliciting the state support to open supermarkets.

More Retail is owned by private equity firm Samara Capital and US ecommerce giant Amazon. The two firms had bought the retail chain from Aditya Birla Group in late 2018. Currently, More Retail operates more than 600 stores across various Indian states.

Meanwhile, Shahi has directed officials to provide district-wise details of major crops grown in the state. The government will also help the company collaborate with the state farmer producer organisations (FPO) for seamless marketing of farm produce.

UP additional chief secretary (agriculture) Devesh Chaturvedi assured More Retail to provide applicable incentives under the state mandi (agro markets) provisions, including making use of the available infrastructure at the state notified mandis.

“The government will provide all possible support to facilitate the sale of agricultural produce at remunerative prices at the doorsteps of the farmers,” he added.