India aims to reduce logistics cost : Pralhad Joshi

New Delhi: Union Food and Consumer Affairs Minister Pralhad Joshi on Sunday said that the government aims to reduce logistics cost from the current 13-14 per cent to global standards of around 8 per cent.

"With the launch of the National Logistics Policy and the PM Gati Shakti Programme, we aim to bring down logistics costs from the existing 13-14 per cent to global standards of around 8 per cent, " Joshi said while addressing the CWC's 69th Foundation Day.

Joshi noted that with the rapid expansion of e-commerce and the government's focus on infrastructure development, the warehousing and logistics sector is seen as a key driver of economic growth.

“Today, modern technology-driven warehousing has revolutionised the sector, with India’s warehousing market expected to grow at a remarkable 15 per cent CAGR, reaching $35 billion by 2027,”Joshi said.

The Minister acknowledged CWC’s significant contribution to infrastructure development and stated that CWC has expanded its storage capacity by an additional 21.65 lakh square feet in FY 2023-24 with a record capital expenditure of Rs 613 crore. He added that its e-commerce capacity has grown 12 fold since 2021 to approximately 80 lakh square feet in 2025.

The Economic Survey -2025 emphasised on development of logistics hubs, investments in infrastructure, and policy reforms to improve supply chain efficiency. As part of the ease of doing business for exporters, the Survey had said that an important area of focus should be enhancing logistics efficiency to strengthen India’s manufacturing and export capabilities.

“These efforts aim to lower costs for Indian businesses, making exports

more competitive and enabling quicker, smoother movement of goods domestically and internationally. This approach aligns with the government’s commitment to the National Logistics Policy’ the survey had said.

The minister highlighted that CWC, established in 1957, has evolved into a dynamic logistics service provider with an extensive network of over 700 warehouses and an operational storage capacity of 148.29 lakh metric tonnes, an official statement said.

Santosh Sinha, Managing Director, CWC said that CWC has added new capacities with more than 120 lakhs sq ft capacity hired during 2024-25, storage of 70 Lakhs Cotton Bales and 1.90 crore bags of groundnut in the current season.