Reliance Retail searching for warehouses

With the growth of modern retail stores, the need for warehousing facilities continues to grow. Reliance Retail reportedly wants to lease the government-owned Food Corporation of India (FCI) storage facility to supplement its capacity for stocking foodgrain. The FCI warehouse is a 300,000 tonne storage facility that is located outside of Lucknow, strategically located to several sourcing hubs.

Sources close to the development said Reliance was planning to hire this capacity and talks were on between the government and the company. “The terms for renting out the facility are being negotiated between the two parties,” said an industry source. So far, FCI has rented out 7.7 lakh tonne capacity in the current financial year and has earned Rs 12.58 crore revenues. FCI is renting out storage capacities as it is carrying low foodgrain stocks due to a reduced procurement of wheat.