The Philippine Ports Authority (PPA) on Monday projected cargo traffic to further expand on the back of improving global trade and on Christmas holiday-related spending.
The state-run port authority said cargo traffic already lifted 4.6 percent to 227.12 million metric tons (MT) in the first 10 months of the year from last year’s 217.33 million MT.
Foreign cargo handling also rose 6.5 percent to 145.16 million MT from 138.24 million MT as exports volume jumped 11.4 percent to 60.82 million MT from 54.57 million MT even as imports inched up 3.3 percent to 84.34 million MT from 81.57 million MT.
Similarly, domestic cargo traffic inched up 1.1 percent to 81.95 million MT from 81.08 million MT.
The PPA traced the increase in cargo volume to higher shipments of coal from Panay/Guimaras, particularly from the Semirara Mining and Power Corporation port .
Other contributing factors to the rise in cargo traffic include increased shipment of breakbulk and bulk cargo at the Batangas port, higher outbound sand cargo from the Port of Currimao as well as higher volume of coconut oil shipped from the Mauban port.
The PPA also reported a 1.34 percent increase in foreign containers handled of 4.08 million twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs) during the 10-month period versus last year’s 4.03 million TEUs.
Imports slightly increased to 2.04 million TEUs from 2.03 million TEUs during the period, particularly at the Manila International Container Terminal (MICT) and at the port management offices in Batangas and Davao.
Likewise, exports went up 2.3 percent to 2.04 million TEUs from 1.99 million TEUs, fueled by increases in the volume handled at MICT and at ports in Davao and Cagayan de Oro.
The World Trade Organization (WTO) projects world merchandise trade volume growing at a slower pace of 0.8 percent this year before this bounces back to 3.3 percent next year.
