Addressing the 65th foundation day of the Central Warehousing Corporation (CWC), Food and Consumer Affairs Minister Piyush Goyal asked the state-owned firm CWC to modernize its facilities and provide comprehensive services like testing labs to reduce logistics cost and boost farmers income.

Goyal asked the corporation to complete all 177 projects that have been sanctioned since 2014 to add 14 lakh tonnes of storage capacity and also set a target for exponential growth in the next five years, reports PTI.

The minister who also is the Railways and Commerce Minister, expressed concerns over the higher logistics cost in India compared to other countries.

“The logistics cost has become competitive across the world,” he said.

Goyal added that the logistics cost in India is 13-14 percent of the total value of the products as compared with seven-eight percent in other countries.

He said India becomes uncompetitive because of this reason and cheaper products from other countries flooded the country.
Goyal said that the CWC should collaborate with the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) and Quality Control of India to provide ‘holistic solutions’ at its warehouses.

The minister complimented the CWC for its contribution to the distribution of foodgrains during the COVID-19 pandemic. He said the CWC is expected to post a record turnover of Rs.1,800-1900 crore this financial year and also distribute a record dividend.

The CWC achieved the highest ever turnover of about Rs.1,710 crore during 2019-20.

Goyal said the demand for warehousing infrastructure is increasing. He said the CWC's warehouses should provide a safety net to farmers by providing storage facilities at a reasonable price and helping farmers in achieving better price realisation for their produce.

The minister exhorted the CWC to aim for exponential growth in the next five years and increase its storage capacity significantly from the current 130 lakh tonnes. He said that the CWC should fulfil the warehousing need of the country through the partnership with private sector enterprises.

In this regard, he referred to the remark of CWC's MD who explained that monetisation is not a programme to sell the country's wealth.

Goyal said public and private sector firms should work together to improve efficiency and output. They must learn from each other.

“Let's not limit our vision by any constraints whatsoever,” he told the CWC officials.

The minister said the CWC should reinvent the organisation and also re-examine the way it functions as part of its overall aim to become an entity of global standard.