The Hindu Business Line : CWC to go slow on inland box depot plans

Faced with an economic downturn, Central Warehousing Corporation (CWC) has decided to go slow over its earlier plan to launch in the current fiscal itself three inland container depots (ICDs)/container freight stations (CFSs) at Kannaur, Pipavav and Kochi.

“We’re still to decide on the dates to start work on these projects”, according to a spokesman for CWC.

“May be towards the end of 2009-10; but nothing finalised yet as everything will depend on the country’s economic situation”.

capacity utilisation

The capacity utilisation of CWC’s existing ICDs/CFSs, totalling 36, as he points out, has dropped to around 70 per cent from the earlier more than 90 per cent. The total capacity of these ICDs/CFSs is estimated at 11.92 lakh tonnes.

However, the overall utilisation level is slightly better. CWC has total warehousing space to let is 10 million tonnes and till February the level of utilisation was 82 per cent.

The year 2008-09, it is felt, will most probably end up with a figure of 83 per cent. The marginal improvement in March should be attributed to early crops, particularly mustard, in Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan, and the consequent demand for space to store them.

Cotton stocks

CWC is currently holding about 21 lakh bales of cotton out of a total of about 70/75 lakh bales procured by the Cotton Corporation of India. An estimated 4.5 lakh tonnes of space has been occupied by 21 lakh bales. “The upward revision of the minimum support price for cotton has helped CCI to procure a huge quantity”, he observes.

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