National policy to bring down logistics cost below 10%: Piyush Goyal

September 18, 2019: Commerce and industry and railways minister Piyush Goyal has said that India will soon release its national logistics policy to bring down the cost of logistics to at least below 10 per cent.

Speaking at the ninth Asia Pacific Trade Facilitation Forum 2019 in New Delhi, Goyal said that the government was working on a national mission engaging railways, civil aviation, roads and shipping to bring down the logistics cost below 10 percent. He emphasised on the ample trade opportunities in the region and called out for a collective effort to eliminate trade barriers.

The Forum is jointly organised by the commerce ministry, Asian Development Bank (ADB), Confederation of Indian Industry and United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UN-ESCAP). Goyal also launched the ADB-ESCAP joint publication 'Asia Pacific Trade Facilitation Report 2019' at the event.

Acknowledging that the Railways are competing with a far more efficient road transport system, Goyal said that a competitive spirit will bring down logistics cost and encourage Railways to be far more efficient.

"A collective effort is required to eliminate trade barriers, otherwise the retaliatory measures worsen the open architecture of free trade that the world is trying to create," he said.