Due to Covid-19 pandemic, coal volumes at major ports declined for the 4th straight month in July 2020
New Delhi, August 17: According to the Indian Ports’ Association (IPA), both thermal and coking coal imports at India’s 12 major ports dropped 31% to 36.7 million tonnes (MT) in April-July 2020 compared to the same period a year ago due to the disruption caused by Covid-19 pandemic. Thermal coal imports dropped 30% to 23.19 MT while coking coal imports fell 32.26% to 13.51 MT during this period.
Coal volumes at these 12 major ports declined for the fourth straight month in July 2020, the ports having handled 33.11 MT of thermal coal and 13.51 MT of coking coal in the April-July period of the previous financial year.
The IPA, maintaining cargo data handled by these ports, stated in its latest report that “percentage variation from the previous year” in thermal coal and coking coal handling was 30% and 32.26% respectively. The thermal and coking coal handling together witnessed a decline of 30.83% to 36.7 MT at these ports in the April-July period.
Thermal coal is the mainstay of India’s energy programme with 70% of power generation being dependent on dry fuel, while coking coal is used mainly for steel making. India is the third-largest producer of coal after China and the US, having 299 billion tonnes of resources and 123 billion tonnes of proven reserves predicted to last over 100 years.
The 12 major ports under Central government control- Deendayal (erstwhile Kandla), Mumbai, JNPT, Mormugao, New Mangalore, Cochin, Chennai, Kamarajar (earlier Ennore), V O Chidambarnar, Visakhapatnam, Paradip and Kolkata (including Haldia) handled 705 MT of cargo, about 61% of the country’s total cargo traffic, in the last financial year, with 236.01 MT of cargo during April-July 2018-19, the ports body said. Cargo volumes at ports like Chennai, Cochin and Kamarajar nosedived over 30% during April-July, while JNPT and Kolkata suffered a drop of over 20%. While Chennai port saw 32.53% decline in cargo handling to 11.08 MT, Kamarajar (Ennore) port suffered a drop of 35.64% to 7 MT in April-July, IPA data revealed. Cargo handling at Cochin Port dipped 32.78% to 7.76 MT during the period, while JNPT port slipped 27.69% to 16.94 MT, with Mumbai registering a fall of 19.79% to 15.85 MT.
Sharp declines were witnessed in handling of containers and POL (petroleum, oil and lubricant) among other commodities like coal due to the COVID-19 outbreak.
