CHENNAI: Container throughput for major ports increases marginally by 1.92 per cent from April till October given the steepest year-over-year monthly fall in exports since July 2009 in the absence of support as given in competing countries, said President, FIEO, SC Ralhan.
While commenting on the container throughput at major state-owned ports in the first seven fiscal months, compared with the same period last year, he stated that the 12 major public ports cumulatively handled 4.76 million 20-foot-equivalent units from April to October, up 1.92 percent from 4.67 million TEUs a year earlier.
He said that for JNPT and Chennai together account for roughly 80 percent of total containerized ocean cargo moving through major ports and Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust accounted for 2.61 million TEUs, inching up 0.3 percent from 2.6 million TEUs during April to October 2014 while Chennai Port, which is India’s second-largest public container port and busiest on the east coast, was up 1.3 percent to 934,000 TEUs.
The data show Tuticorin handled 11.5 percent more containers than a year earlier, reaching 357,000 TEUs, while Cochin increased volumes 8.7 percent year-over-year to 236,000 TEUs. Kolkata port saw container volumes grow about 3 percent from April to October 2014, reaching 379,000 TEUs, said Ralhan.
He stated that the shipping ministry has done away with customs and excise duty on bunker fuel for Indian flag ships to make India an attractive transhipment hub; besides augmenting port capacities to double but with declining exports falling to 24.3 per cent in value terms the steepest year-over-year monthly fall since July 2009, major Indian ports are unlikely to meet their targets for fiscal 2015-16, which ends on March 31, 2016 and complimenting measures need to be taken to sustain exports.
Taking a leaf from neighbouring Sri Lanka at this juncture maybe relevant which incentivizes not only domestic companies but those setting shop in Sri Lanka through the Board of investments of Sri Lanka, added Ralhan.
