Major port cargo traffic rose by over 3% in May

04 Jun 2024 CW Team

Twelve of the nation's major ports handled 72.04 million tonne (MT) of cargo in May, up 3.75% year over year from 69.43 MT in the same month of 2023; nine of these ports saw increases. According to statistics given by the main ports' apex organisation, the Indian Ports Association (IPA), Visakhapatnam Port had the largest cargo growth in cargo handling during the reporting month at 22.05%. Chennai Port, Cochin Port, Mumbai Port, and Chennai Port came in second, third, and fourth, respectively. The twelve principal ports are: Jawaharlal Nehru Port, Deendayal (Kandla), Mumbai, Mormugao, New Mangalore, Cochin, Chennai, Ennore (Kamarajar), Tuticorin (V O Chidambaranar), Visakhapatnam, Paradip, and Kolkata (including Haldia). The IPA reports that VO Chidambaranar Port's cargo handling increased by 5.59% in the previous month, compared to 4.27% at Paradip Port, 3.49% at Deendayal Port, 1.87% at New Mangalore Port, and 1.78% at JNPA. According to the IPA, the ports that suffered a decrease in cargo handling in May of this year were SMP, Kolkata Port, which saw a 15.70 drop, Kamarajar Port, and Mormugao Port, which saw declines of 3.58% and 10.55 percent, respectively. It said that total traffic at Kolkata's Syama Prasad Mookerjee Port fell by 15.70% in the previous month, while traffic at Haldia Dock Complex (HDC) fell by 18.32% and at Kolkata Dock System (KDS) by 3.71%. IPA attributed the fall in cargo handling traffic at KDS to a reduction in coking and other coal by -71.75% and finished fertilisers by 43.53%, among others. This was followed by Paradip Port with 12.64 MT and 17.55% share, Visakhapatnam Port at 8.57 MT with 11.90% share, JNPA at 7.45 MT with 10.34% share, and Mumbai Port at 5.79 MT with 8.044% share, according to the IPA.

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