Wal-Mart-Bharti to export farm goods

KOLKATA : The scope of the Wal-Mart-Bharti mega back-end retail alliance is silently falling into place. The $316-billion company, Wal-Mart, has drawn up plans with Bharti to export Indian farm produce and develop backward linkages in the agriculture sector. Wal-Mart has plans to replicate its global supply chain model and invest in IT back-end in the Indian agriculture sector.

In a written response to ET’s email query, the Wal-Mart Stores spokesperson wrote back: “With Bharti, we believe we can best leverage Wal-Mart’s experience and expertise to partner with farmers to provide efficient linkages. We will also like to leverage our global scale to transform these suppliers into exporters with access to our global markets.”

Wal-Mart aims to leverage its sophisticated information systems and supply chain management expertise to achieve efficiencies that will benefit Indian farmers and business partners. “Linkages backed by improved supply chain efficiencies will help maximise value for farmers,” the spokesperson said.

However, Wal-Mart refused to divulge critical details about the plans. For the first time, Wal-Mart will source agri-products from India for its global operations. In 2005, the company had directly sourced $414 million through its Bangalore global procurement office and major categories were home textiles, apparel, fine jewellery and housewares.

It is well-known that Wal-Mart is looking at cash-and-carry operations in India jointly with Bharti. The company intends to localise its Indian venture to a large extent. “In every location we operate in, we are local. We carry local products from local suppliers that appeal to local taste, need and fashion,” the spokesperson said.

With Wal-Mart showing interest in export of Indian agri-products, this will be the second such initiative for Bharti. Bharti Enterprises has another venture, FieldFresh Foods with EL Rothschild Group-owned ELRO Holdings India, to export fresh agri-products like fruits and vegetables to Europe and the US.

FieldFresh Foods is investing close to $50 million to create state-of-the-art infrastructure for R&D, climate-controlled processing facilities and cold stores. As per the information posted on FieldFresh’s website, the company has partnered with farmers across the country with over 5,000 acres already under cultivation.