PM invites UAE retail giant to Australia to challenge Coles and Woolies
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has invited a United Arab Emirates retail chain to come to Australia to break up the Coles and Woolworths duopoly.
He met with LuLu Hypermarket chairman Yusuff Ali in Abu Dhabi on his way home from an 11-day diplomatic trip to meet world leaders in New York and London.
LuLu Hypermarket is one of the largest retail chains in the Middle East, with more than 260 stores across the Gulf.
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Prime Minister Anthony Albanese with Lulu Chairman Yusuff Ali during a visit to Lulu Hypermarket. Dominic Lorrimer
Albanese confirmed he had formally asked Ali to bring LuLu to Australia to drive greater competition.
"I want to see more competition. That's one of the things that it can bring," he told reporters in Abu Dhabi.
"This is a significant company. They are the largest throughout the Middle East. They're the second-largest in Saudi Arabia.
"We know that Aldi has come to Australia, and this is a significant player that has an engagement with Australia, and I want to see more competition."
The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission in March this year estimated that Woolworths dominates 38 per cent of all supermarket sales, while Coles controls 29 per cent and Aldi owns nine per cent.
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Prime Minister Anthony Albanese poses with Arnott's Shapes at the LuLu Hypermarket. Dominic Lorrimer
It also found Australia's supermarkets are among the most profitable in the world as grocery prices jumped 24 per cent in five years.
LuLu Hypermarket imports some of its products from Australia, with beef and Tim Tams among some of the items retailing for cheaper in the UAE.
The retail conglomerate laid out the red carpet for the prime minister during a tour of one of its stores, with Australian products and flags on display.
Ali said he was "very happy" to welcome Albanese.
"I am very honoured, and I am thankful to his excellency for visiting and to display and show our Australian products, and very high-quality products which Australia is exporting and we are importing," he said.
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Prime Minister Anthony Albanese with LuLu Global Director, Global Operations and Chief Sustainability Officer Mohamed Althaf MM and Lulu Chairman Yusuff Ali. Dominic Lorrimer
Albanese is celebrating a new free trade agreement with the UAE, which will remove tariffs on 99 per cent of Australian exports and increase investment from the UAE sovereign wealth fund into Australia.
"What that does is open up all of the markets of the Middle East through the United Arab Emirates that are an important trading partner for Australia," he said.
"This is important to deliver for Australian businesses, for Australian consumers and for our economy."
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