COVID-19 impact | Cargo traffic at major ports declines to 601 MT in Apr-Feb: Centre

New Delhi: The COVID-19 pandemic resulted in cargo traffic at India’s major ports declining to 600.63 million tonnes (MT) in April-February as against 643.10 MT in the year-ago period, Parliament was informed on March 22. India has 12 major ports that handle over 60% of the export-import (EXIM) cargo.

“The total traffic handled at Major ports during April to February, 2021 was 600.63 million tonnes (MT) as against 643.10 MT during the corresponding period of the previous year due to prevailing COVID-19 pandemic,” Ports, Shipping and Waterways Minister Mansukh Mandaviya said in a written reply in the Rajya Sabha.

Mandaviya further said a number of projects are on to augment the capacity of major ports.

“As a result, the cargo handling capacity of the Major Ports has gone up to 1,534.91 million tonnes per annum (MTPA) as on March 31, 2020,” he said.

This is adequate to handle the present level of EXIM cargo and also increased requirements in the future, the minister added.