Chapter 5

Warehousing

The storage of milled rice in a scientific fashion is as important a step in the journey of rice from farm to the plate as any other, playing a significant role in assuring food security to millions. Warehouses are not only instruments of efficient storage, but are an essential hub—since milled rice is stored here—in the logistics of distribution. Custom Milled Rice (CMR) is brought into the warehouses from rice mills and, it is from here that distributors acquire it to distribute through Fair Price Shops (FPSs) to reach the beneficiaries. In West Bengal, this job has nearly entirely been allocated to the West Bengal State Warehousing Corporation (WBSWC), a government undertaking that functions under the aegis of the Food and Supplies Department of the Government of West Bengal.

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