Morbi Warehouse Fire Destroys Rs 42 Crore Groundnut Stock
More than five days after a fire broke out at a warehouse near Morbi in Gujarat, firefighters continued to douse smouldering groundnuts as of July 9. The blaze, which began on July 4, destroyed over 5,500 tonnes of groundnuts stored in about 1.6 lakh gunny bags, valued at nearly Rs 42 crore.
The warehouse, located behind the Rafleshwar Mahadev temple about 11 km from Morbi city, was leased by the Gujarat State Warehousing Corporation Ltd to store oilseed stocks procured by the Gujarat Cooperative Marketing Federation Limited (GUJCOMASOL) on behalf of the National Agricultural Cooperative Marketing Federation of India Ltd (NAFED).
According to Hasmukhrai Rathod, manager of the godown, smoke was reported around 1:30 pm on July 4. Firefighters from Morbi, Wankaner, Rajkot, and Jamnagar were called in. Devendrasinh Jadeja, Chief Fire Officer of Morbi Fire and Emergency Services, stated that the fire started on the right side of the godown and engulfed the entire warehouse within an hour. The roof caught fire, and the metal structure collapsed by night.
Groundnuts have a high oil content—typically 40-50%—which fueled the stubborn fire. Even after days, white smoke continued to rise from charred gunny bags. Firefighting teams dumped water on the blaze, but the collapsed metal structure protected smouldering bags from intermittent rain. A bulldozer was used to push and scoop up the charred remnants for disposal.
Dinesh Suthar, CEO of GUJCOMASOL, said the crop was purchased from farmers after Diwali at a minimum support price (MSP) of Rs 7,517 per quintal, totaling Rs 41.98 crore. The wholesale and retail price of groundnuts is higher than the MSP. NAFED is the principal owner of the product, and GUJCOMASOL purchased the groundnuts at MSP from farmers at various Agriculture Produce Marketing Committees (APMCs) between November 2025 and February 2026.
India is the world's second-largest producer of groundnuts after China, and Gujarat is the leading producer within India. According to the third advance estimates released by the Union Ministry of Agriculture on May 27, groundnut production for the 2025-26 crop year is projected to reach a record 13.074 million tonnes. This incident highlights the vulnerability of warehouses storing high-oil-content commodities like groundnuts, which are prone to fires due to their combustibility.
Local administrators described the loss as complete. The fire underscores the need for enhanced fire safety measures in such storage facilities to protect valuable agricultural produce and farmers' livelihoods.
