Warehouses help to store goods when their supply exceeds the demand and by releasing them when the demand increases with respect to the production quantity. This ensures a regular supply of goods in the market and also helps to stabilize prices by balancing supply with demand.
Warehouses have loading docks to load and unload goods from transport vehicles along with cranes and forklifts for moving goods, which are usually placed on ISO standard pallets, loaded into pallet racks.
FCI has the provision of scientific storage for the millions of tons of food grains procured by it. In order to provide easy physical access in remote and inaccessible areas, FCI has a network of storage depots strategically located all over India.
These depots include silos, go-downs and an indigenous method developed by FCI, called Cover and Plinth (CAP). CAP storage is a term given to storage of food grains in the open with adequate precautions such as rat and damp proof plinths, use of dunnage and covering of stacks with specially fabricated polythene covers etc. FCI, thus maintains the health of the large stock of the tons of food grains in storage through its excellent storage management.