India's major ports throughout down 2.8 percent
Cargo volumes at India's dozen state-owned major ports fell by more than 2.8% between April and November as global trade slowed and increasing number of private minor terminals ate into the market, Daily Shipping Times reported.
The 12 ports handled a combined 359.9 million tonnes of cargo as against 370.6 million tonnes (mt) handled in the year-ago period, data released by the Indian Port Association (IPA) showed. These ports are Kolkata, Paradip, Visakhapatnam, Ennore, Chennai, Tuticorin, Cochin, New Mangalore, Mormugao, Kandla, Mumbai and Jawaharlal Nehru Port (JNPT).
According to IPA data, "The minor ports have been attracting major portion of the cargo at a time when the global economy has slowed down," said Mr. Shailesh Garg, Director at London-based consultants Drewry Shipping. "The minor ports, which are more efficient, have become a threat to the major ports."
However, the country's only corporate port at Ennore posted a growth of 20% during the period largely due to an increase in the shipment of coal, both thermal and coking.
Ennore is the only port that was built as a corporate entity as compared to the other ports that are still run as trusts. The sharpest fall in cargo was at Mormugao in Goa where traffic fell by more than 40% because of the ban initiated on iron ore handling by Goa State Pollution Control Board.