India’s Major Ports’ see 4.45 % cargo volume growth in FY24 : IPA

NEW DELHI : India’s 12 major ports handled 819.227 million tonnes (mt) of cargo in FY24, some 4.45 percent more than the 784.305 mt handled during last year on the back of strong growth in iron ore, raw fertiliser, coking coal and  container shipments, according to data received from Indian Ports Association (IPA).

MoPSW data showed that the shipments of iron ore including pellets surged 32.68 percent to 61.031 mt in FY24 from 45.997 mt in FY23.

The 12 major ports’ growth is a compound of 12.310 million twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs) in FY24 from 11.392 million TEUs in FY23, showing a growth of 8.06 percent. Jawaharlal Nehru Port Authority handled 6.43 million TEUs or more than half of the total container volumes.

Raw fertiliser shipments rose 13.56 percent in FY24 to 9.406 mt from 8.283 mt in FY23. Petroleum, oil and lubricants (POL) cargo jumped 5.06 percent to 245.990 mt in FY24 from 234.137 mt the previous year.

Coking coal and PCI shipments (including metcoke) coming in increased by 10.24 per cent to 65 mt last fiscal against the 59 mt reported in the year-ago-period, primarily on the back of strong demand in the country and an increased production. Steel consumption increased 14 er cent to 136 mt, while finished steel production was up 12.4 per cent to 138.5 mt. Coking coal is a key steel-making raw material and India is amongst the largest importers globally

On the other hand, iron ore shipments was up at 61 mt, up 33 per cent y-o-y over the 46 mt in Fy23. Increased buying from China, specially till January, took outbound shipments to a three-year-high.

The other segment that saw increased movement was petroleum offerings, which stood at 246 mt, up 5 per cent y-o-y . Shipments – inbound and outbound both – in the petroleum, oils and lubricant category was at 234 mt a year back.

India’s major ports – run by the Shipping Ministry – include Syama Prasad Mookerjee Port (formerly Kolkata Port Trust) that includes both the Kolkata and Haldia dock systems together, Paradip, Vishakhapatnam, Kamarajar (or Ennore port), Chennai, VO Chidambaranar, Cochin, New Mangalore, Mormugao, Mumbai, Jawaharlal Nehru Port Authority (JNPA) and Deendayal.

Port-wise performance

Mormugao saw the highest increase in traffic in percentage terms, by nearly 19 per cent to 21 million in FY24. It was at 17 mt in FY23. The rise came on the back of increased iron ore exports to 5 mt, up 117 per cent y-o-y. Traffic across all other categories, like petroleum, coking coal and thermal coal saw a decline.

Paradip Port Authority achieves first position in cargo handling among major ports with 145.379 mt in FY24 compared to 135.362 mt last year, showed a growth of 7.40 percent, whereas Deendayal Port Authority, was the biggest state-owned port by cargo handling till last year, showed a 3.77 percent decline in volumes during FY24 in 132.374 mt from 137.561 mt in FY23.

Haldia Dock, part of the Syama Prasad Mookherjee Port, saw the highest shipment of coking coal at 21 mt, same as last year’s levels. Coking coal shipments at the port (Haldia and Kolkata together) remained flat at 23 mt levels.

Other cargo registered a decline of 4.94 percent in FY24 to 30.871 mt from 32.476 mt a year earlier, finished fertiliser cargo decreased by 5.14 percent to 8.269 mt in FY24 from 8.717 mt a year ago.