MTR Foods partners with HOPCOMS to increase direct sourcing

MTR Foods has partnered with Karnataka Horticultural Producers' Co-operative Marketing and Processing Society to increase direct sourcing of their fresh fruits and vegetables requirements from farmers in the state.
The agreement will also enable consumers to buy company's products from Co-operative Marketing and Processing Society (HOPCOMS) stores across the city, MTR Foods said in a statement.
HOPCOMS, functioning under the aegis of department of Horticulture, Karnataka government, is a platform for farmers to market their fresh produce, which is purchased directly from them at remunerative prices, eliminating the middleman.
It is operating in Bengaluru urban, Bengaluru rural, Kolar, Chikkaballapura and Ramanagar Districts.

Through this partnership, MTR Foods will source a significant portion of its fresh produce requirements from HOPCOMS, which will in turn help support the agri-economy and increase farmer incomes in Karnataka, it said.
In addition, its stores across the state will also provide shelf space for MTR products and help in increasing MTR's distribution and HOPCOMS's footfalls.

MTR Foods will also initiate a number of CSR programs to provide infrastructure and farming apparatus that will increase farmers' productivity as well as put significant emphasis on food safety, it said.
MTR Foods CEO Sanjay Sharma said the collaboration will enable them to get fresh, great quality produce directly from the source.

"We have started this collaboration by sourcing the majority of our vegetable and fruit produce from HOPCOMS and we are looking at scaling this up further by the end of the year,"he said.
HOPCOMS Managing Director K B Krishna said, "Our main aim has always been to help farmers and encourage horticulture.Our wide network of farmers and healthy produce, combined with a brand like MTR Foods with an established distribution network, will no doubt provide a boost to the farming community in Karnataka.