E-commerce to drive warehousing demand in Kolkata during

FY21, says property consultant
(Eds: Changing word in 2nd last para)
    Kolkata, Jul 5 (PTI) The demand for warehousing space
in the city during the current financial year will largely be
driven by e-commerce and FMCG companies, an official of a
global property consulting firm said.
    E-commerce accounted for 27 per cent of the
entire warehousing deals in Kolkata and adjoining areas, while
FMCG's share was five per cent last year.
    Their share in the total warehousing deals in FY21
is expected to jump significantly as there will be a change in
demand pattern, he said.
    "Instead of large parcel warehousing for industrial
and commercial purposes, relatively smaller warehouses will
see robust demand driven by e-commerce companies, a segment
that continues to expand with new more services," Knight Frank
India, Kolkata Director, Swapan Dutta said.
    There will be a requirement of mid-size warehouses
by e-commerce and FMCG companies in various clusters of
Kolkata in FY21, the official said.
    However, the shift in demand patterns and enquiries
for in-city warehouses may put land prices in peripheral
warehouse clusters under pressure in near-to-mid term, he
said.
    The leasing deals of the last fiscal are witnessing
renegotiation of rates following disruptions due to COVID-19.
    In 2019-20, Kolkata saw a healthy warehouse leasing of
3.93 million sq ft, according to the India Warehousing Market
Report 2020, a drop by 14 per cent over the previous fiscal.
    Dankuni and suburban cluster of Kolkata accounted for
a 52 per cent share of warehousing transactions in FY 2020,
while the National Highway-16 (old NH-6) has the rest of the
deals.
    The warehousing market demand in Kolkata has seen a
robust compounded annual growth rate of 43 per cent for the
FY2017-2020 period.
    "Only 2019-20 fiscal was an aberration from the steady
year-on-year growth story of warehousing. The traditional
warehousing demand in locations like Dankuni, Dhulagarh on
NH-6 will shrink during this fiscal," Dutta said.
Kolkata, due to its strategic location, is a major
warehousing hub of the eastern belt of the country. PTI BSM
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(This story has not been edited by THE WEEK and is auto-generated from PTI)