Volumes at the 12 major ports in India have seen a growth during the month of June. In June 2009, cargo traffic at major ports in India increased by 8.6% year-on-year to 45.4 million tonne, but volumes fell marginally month-on-month. During May 2009, cargo traffic at major ports in India declined by 1.1% y-o-y to 45.8 million tonne.
In June, the cargo traffic was short of the target cargo for the month by 4.5%. According to industry experts, the key reason for the growth in the month of June 2009 is due to higher number of operational days due to poor monsoon during June.
?The situation has improved compared to the last few months. May be the growing cargo volume is a sign that the global trade situation is improving. The impact of the global slowdown saw Indian ports see volumes fall continuously from November 2008
onwards,? commented an official from the Kolkata Port Trust.
Among the major ports, Mormugao and Paradip ports registered highest growth at 48% and 36% respectively in Jun 2009. Moreover, the country?s top 12 state-owned ports registered a growth of 1.89 % in handling cargo during the first quarter of the current financial year, as compared to the corresponding period last year. These ports include Kolkata (with Haldia), Paradip, Visakhapatanam, Ennore, Chennai, Tuticorin, Cochin, New Mangalore, Mormugao, Mumbai, Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust and Kandla. However, the total traffic in the first quarter missed the target of 143.03 million tonne.
Though, Paradip Port registered the highest growth in cargo handling at 25.35% in the first quarter of this year over the corresponding period last year, Kolkata Port recorded the maximum fall at 18.73% over the same period.
The 12 major ports handled 136.58 million tonnes of cargo in the first quarter of this financial year. They managed 134.05 million tonnes of traffic in the corresponding period of 2008-09.
Moreover, during financial year 2008-09, these ports handled 530.35 million tonnes (mt) of cargo such as crude oil, petroleum products, iron ore, coal, container cargo and fertilisers, according to data compiled by the Indian Ports Association that represents the 12 ports. In the FY08, they had handled 519.15mt of cargo.