Rice miller and exporter KRBL Limited recently said it plans to increase operations throughout the Middle East, with concentration in the GCC, in efforts to meet a five-year plan to grow business by 75 percent.
India-based KRBL, the world's largest rice miller and basmati rice exporter, will focus on strengthening partnerships with collaborating businesses and expanding its distributing system.
The company, which documented export revenue of $203.5 million during the year 2014-15, owns the flagship brand India Gate Basmati Rice. KRBL is able expanding the basmati rice segment because of increased rice consumption in the Middle East .
"The total consumption in the Middle East is about 3 million metric tons, and KRBL is targeting around 25 percent of this volume owning to its large milling capacity of 1.2 million metric tons," KBL Director Priyanka Mittal said. "The Gulfood exhibition is an important trade fair for KRBL with the Middle East being our biggest market outside India. Today, 85 percent of our total export revenue comes from the Middle East. With a truly global population and changing demographics, this region offers a huge potential for growth, and we want to capitalize on this opportunity. At KRBL, we have the capacity and the infrastructure to support this growth. Our marketing strategy towards achieving this is to offer a product basket that caters to all consumer levels."
KRBL recently entered the value sector of the market by introducing the Bab Al Hind brand in UAE, and launching the Nurjahan brand in Qatar, Bahrain and Oman.
"While Indian basmati rice continues to enjoy robust growth in Arab markets, we are committed to rolling out other brands depending on the size of the opportunity and our ability to cater to demand," Mittal said.
KRBL plans to enter into new territory by exploring markets that include Turkey, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Kazakhstan and Yemen.
Alerts Sign-up