Single‑Window Solution Aims to Bridge Farm Gate to Global Markets, Says CWC MD Santosh Sinha

New Delhi – A roomful of policymakers, exporters and logistics experts gathered at PHD House last week, all of them glued to a single idea: India’s agri‑export chain needs a makeover. The discussion, organised by the PHD Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PHDCCI) together with the Central Warehousing Corporation (CWC), centered on a theme that could not be more apt – “From Farm Gate to Global Markets”.

Taking the stage, Mr. Santosh Sinha, Managing Director of CWC, painted a vivid picture of the current scenario. He reminded the audience that the corporation, which started in 1957 with just seven warehouses aimed at easing farmers’ distress sales, now operates a network of over 950 storage points across the country. Yet, despite this expansion, India still loses roughly a quarter of its 360 million tonnes of fruits and vegetables each year because of inadequate storage, weak cold‑chain links and logistical bottlenecks.

“We have the bricks and the roads, but we lack a single‑window solution that stitches everything together,” Sinha said, his voice dropping for emphasis. He outlined CWC’s plan to turn its vast warehousing and EXIM network into an end‑to‑end service hub – offering everything from temperature‑controlled storage and phytosanitary certification to digital container tracking and export documentation.

He also highlighted a collaboration with IIT Delhi that is chipping away at the cost barrier for commodity‑specific cold‑storage units. And, perhaps most importantly, he flagged CWC’s ability to issue internationally recognised phytosanitary certificates – a critical factor that can keep Indian consignments from being rejected at overseas ports.

Other voices added layers to the conversation. Mr. Akhilesh Gupta of FSSAI explained the maze of regulatory requirements exporters must navigate, stressing risk‑based inspections and destination‑country compliance. Dr. Pradeep Multani, chairman‑emeritus of Multani Pharmaceuticals, urged a shift from plain warehousing to value‑added hubs that can sort, grade, label and test produce on the spot, all under a digital eye that monitors temperature and inventory in real time.

Echoing this, Mr. Pawan Kumar, Group General Manager of CWC, said integration is not just a buzzword; it’s the lever that can bring down logistics costs and make Indian agri‑exports more reliable. Finally, Dr. Nasir Jamal of PHDCCI wrapped up the session by insisting that warehousing must evolve into an ecosystem – one that brings together government bodies, private players and technology providers to cut waste, trim expenses and project India as a dependable supplier on the world stage.

The consensus was clear: a single‑window, farm‑to‑port logistics framework could be the catalyst India needs to turn its abundant produce into a steady stream of export earnings.