BHUBANESWAR: The Centre has informed the Rajya Sabha that only a minimal quantity of foodgrains stored by the Food Corporation of India (FCI) in its godowns in Odisha had become non-issuable during the last five years.
Replying to a question from BJD Rajya Sabha MP Sasmit Patra on storage losses of foodgrains and the efficiency of warehousing infrastructure in Odisha, Union minister of state for Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution Nimuben Jayantibhai Bambhaniya said only a minimal quantity of foodgrains stored by the Food Corporation of India (FCI) had become non-issuable during the last five years, mainly due to natural calamities such as cyclones, flash floods and heavy rains.
She said the quantity of damaged foodgrains was 1,693 MT in 2021-22, 1,628 MT in 2022-23, 10,348 MT in 2023-24, 7,858 MT in 2024-25 and 2,247 MT in 2025-26, representing a very small fraction of total foodgrain offtake.
The minister also informed the House that the Central Warehousing Corporation (CWC) recorded storage losses due to the natural drying of grains in Odisha. These amounted to 826.64 MT in 2021-22, 817.76 MT in 2022-23, 570.96 MT in 2023-24, 1,059.46 MT in 2024-25 and 1,087.12 MT in 2025-26.
On storage infrastructure, the minister said FCI has a total foodgrain storage capacity of 6.21 lakh metric tonnes (LMT) in Odisha, comprising 2.78 LMT of its own warehouses, 1.42 LMT hired from the Central Warehousing Corporation (CWC) and 2.01 LMT hired from the Odisha State Warehousing Corporation (OSWC). The CWC has an overall storage capacity of 5.82 LMT in the state, including the space hired by FCI.
To a specific question, the minister said that no specific audit on storage efficiency and scientific warehousing practices has been conducted in Odisha by the department of food and public distribution (DFPD) under the food ministry or its agencies. However, FCI regularly assesses storage conditions through periodic inspections, while depot performance is monitored in real time through the Depot Darpan Portal.
She further said that post-procurement losses are being minimised through scientific storage practices, regular fumigation and pest control, moisture management, periodic inspections, adherence to the first-in-first-out (FIFO) principle, covered rail transport and continuous monitoring of warehouse operations.
