Cargo traffic at 12 major ports up 7.14 per cent at 535 MT in Apr-Jan

New Delhi: Buoyed by pick up in demand, India's 12 major ports saw cargo traffic increase by 7.14 per cent to 535.35 million tonnes (MT) during the first 10 months of the current fiscal. These top ports under the Centre had handled 499.68 MT cargo during the April-January period of the last fiscal. "Increased demand from various sectors including iron ore, POL and containers saw cargo traffic grow by 7 per cent to 535 MT" a Shipping Ministry official told PTI.

Iron ore traffic volumes more than doubled to 38.61 MT during the period while POL (petroleum, oil and lubricants) volumes too surged by 8 per cent, the official said. Kandla port handled the highest traffic volume at 88.47 MT during the April-January period of the current fiscal followed by Paradip Port at 72.90 MT, Mumbai Port at 52.94 MT, JNPT at 51.32 MT and Visakhapatnam at 50.98 MT, he said. Chennai port handled 42.20 MT of cargo while Kolkata Port including Haldia handled 40.57 MT of cargo.

Volume of seaborne cargo is essentially in the nature of derived demand and is mainly shaped by the levels and changes in both the global and domestic activity. During the ten months, Murmugao port recorded the highest growth in traffic at 61.95 per cent followed by Paradip Port at 18.20 per cent, New Mangalore at 13.60 per cent and Cochin at 10.60 per cent.

Three of the ports that witnessed negative growth during the period are Kamrajar 4.16 per cent JNPT at 4.15 per cent and Kolkata 2.46 per cent. India has 12 major ports: Kandla, Mumbai, JNPT, Marmugao, New Mangalore, Cochin, Chennai, Ennore, V O Chidambarnar, Visakhapatnam, Paradip and Kolkata (including Haldia) which handle approximately 61 per cent of the country's total cargo traffic.