Global economic meltdown has cast its shadow on country's maritime trade with the cargo traffic growth in the top 12 state-owned ports nosediving in the financial year 2008-09, recording just 2.13% increase.
These 12 ports-- Kolkata (including Haldia), Paradip, Visakhapatanam, Ennore, Chennai, Tuticorin, Cochin, New Mangalore, Mormugao, Mumbai, Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust and Kandla, handled 530.35 million tonnes (MT)of cargo in 2008-09, an official in the Ministry of Shipping told PTI.
"The global economic slowdown had cast its shadow over our ports. The 12 major ports could handle only 530.35 million tonnes of cargo in comparison to previous fiscal's 519.15 MT. The meltdown had a direct impact on container traffic," the official said.
Cargo traffic growth was at 11.94% at 519.15 MT in 2007-08, over 463.78 MT in 2006-07.
"The growth rate in earlier years had been impressive and in fact the trend was maintained in the first half of the fiscal. But being a part of the global chain we cannot escape from the slowdown impact," the official added.
The cargo volumes grew 50.58% in 2007-08 at 519.15 MT from 344.79 MT handled in 2003-04.
The official said in terms of tonnage container traffic was one of the worst hit by the economic slowdown growing by just 0.9%.
Mumbai and Kolkata including Haldia were worst-hit in 2008-09 recording a steep decline of 9.05% and 5.72% in traffic handling compared to the previous fiscal.
Cochin saw a decline of 3.68% whereas two other ports Visakahpatnam and Ennore saw traffic dwindling by 1.07% and 0.54%. Major ports' capacity too remained affected and could increase marginally to 555.67 MT in financial year 2008-09, amid shrinking maritime trade in the wake of the global economic slowdown.
The government could add only a total of 25 MT to the existing capacities of 12 major ports during the last fiscal. The overall capacity of the major ports was recorded at 532 MT as on March 31, 2008.
The ports also failed to achieve the target fixed for 2008-09, as per the National Maritime Development Programme (NMDP).
The NMDP had fixed a target of capacity increase to 573.5 MT for fiscal year 2009. Going by that account the achievement on capacity increase front fell short by nearly 19 MT.