Freight traffic handled by 12 major ports in India contracted 4.6% Y-o-Y in FY21

Freight traffic handled by 12 major ports in the country contracted 4.6 percent year on year to 672.61 million tonne in FY 2020-21 due to disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic mainly in the first half of the year, data released on April 5 by the Indian Ports Association showed.

Ports’ freight traffic showed a year-on-year increase for the fifth consecutive month in March. Ports’ freight traffic boomed in March, rising 16.4 percent on year, the largest in at least a year.

Among ports, Deendayal port at Kandla handled the highest traffic in 2020-21 at 117.56 million tonne, followed by Paradip port at 114.55 million tonne.

Petroleum, oil, and lubricants, which account for about a third of the total freight traffic at major ports, fell 12.8% on year to 206.75 million tonne in 2020-21. Container traffic, the next largest segment, declined 2.1 percent to 143.74 million tonne.

Thermal and coking coal traffic declined 15.4 percent and 5.2 percent, respectively, during the period. Iron ore freight traffic, on other hand, surged 29.1 percent in 2020-21 to 71.03 million tonne.

Raw fertilizer traffic rose 14,7 percent on year to 7.57 million tonne, and finished fertilizer traffic rose 11.3 percent to 10.38 million tonne.

Traffic of other cargo also rose 2.4 percent on year to 72.83 million tonne in 2020-21, the government data showed.