Cargo Traffic At Indian Ports Faces Mixed Fortunes: Five Ports Thrive, Seven Witness Decline In June

Out of the 12 major ports under the control of the central government, five saw an increase in cargo traffic while seven experienced a decline, according to an official release of the Indian Ports Association (IPA) on Tuesday (4 July).

The IPA stated that in June 2023, the major ports handled 64.63 million tonnes (MT) of cargo, a decrease of 1.96 per cent compared to the same period last year. This decline in traffic affected the overall performance of the ports.

The 12 major ports in India include Deendayal (formerly Kandla), Mumbai, Jawaharlal Nehru Port (JNPT), Mormugao, New Mangalore, Cochin, Chennai, Kamarajar (previously Ennore), VO Chidambaranar, Visakhapatnam, Paradip, and Kolkata (including Haldia).

Among the ports that registered growth in cargo traffic, the New Mangalore Port recorded the highest growth at 11.26 per cent.

It is followed by Mormugao Port at 10.18 per cent and Mumbai Port at 8.56 per cent. Additionally, Paradip Port registered a growth of 8.13 per cent, and Visakhapatnam Port recorded 2.88 per cent growth in cargo traffic.

In terms of volume, Paradip Port handled the highest amount of cargo in June, accounting for 18.15 per cent of the total cargo traffic.

The port handled 11.73 MT, followed by Deendayal Port with 10.60 MT and Visakhapatnam Port with 7 MT of cargo.

Further, among the seven ports that experienced negative growth in June 2023 — VO Chidambaranar Port had the highest decline with a 14.15 per cent decrease in cargo traffic.

Kamarajar Port followed with a 9.55 per cent drop, and Chennai Port had an 8.62 per cent fall, according to the IPA.

Cargo traffic at JNPT, Deendayal Port, Cochin Port, and Shyama Prasad Mukherjee Port (including Haldia) experienced also experienced declines in June, according to the report.

Factors such as a fall in cargo traffic of coking and other coal thermal and steam coal, container tonnage, miscellaneous cargo, and other liquids contributed to the decline in cargo traffic at the seven ports, as reported by the IPA.