Major Ports' Cargo Traffic Falls For Seventh Straight Month In October

India's top ports registered a 12.43% decline in cargo traffic during the April-October period of the current fiscal to 354.81 million tonnes amid Covid-19-related disruptions, according to Indian Ports Association.

India has 12 major ports under the control of the central government — Deendayal (erstwhile Kandla), Mumbai, JNPT, Mormugao, New Mangalore, Cochin, Chennai, Kamarajar (earlier Ennore), VO Chidambarnar, Visakhapatnam, Paradip and Kolkata (including Haldia).

In the wake of the Covid-19 outbreak, sharp declines were witnessed in handling of containers, coal and petroleum, oil and lubricant, among other commodities.

These ports handle about 61% of the country's total cargo traffic. They handled 705 MT of cargo last fiscal.

Cargo volumes at these 12 major ports have declined for the seventh straight month in October 2020. During the April-October period of the last fiscal, these 12 major ports had handled 405.20 MT of cargo, according to the ports' apex body.

Defying the broader trend, Mormugao saw an increase of 16.47% in cargo handling to 10.17 MT during April-October period this year. Cargo handling at Kamarajar Port (Ennore) nosedived 30.56% during April-October to 12.53 MT, while ports like Chennai, Cochin and Mumbai saw their cargo volumes drop about 20% during the said period.

JNPT and Kolkata ports suffered sharp declines of 18% and 14% respectively. Deendayal Port saw cargo volumes dip 11.5%, while VO Chidambarnar recorded a dip of 10.8% and cargo handling at New Mangalore and Visakhapatnam dropped by over 5%. Paradip Port recorded a decline of about 4%.

Shipping Minister Mansukh Mandaviya has recently said the cargo traffic at 12 major ports declined considerably from March onwards, adversely impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic. The minister, however, had added that recovery has started since June 2020.