Steady rise in cargo traffic at Indian ports
- Cargo traffic at Indian ports has increased at a CAGR of about 6 per cent in the past two decades. Of this, the traffic at major ports has grown at a CAGR of 4.41 per cent while that at non-major ports has grown at a CAGR of 9.35 per cent.
- The share of non-major ports in the overall traffic handled at Indian ports has increased steadily, from about 26 per cent in 2003-04 to over 45 per cent in 2022-23. This growth can be attributed to the increased focus on non-major ports and factors such as the presence of captive cargo streams, higher operating efficiency, modern infrastructure and a more diversified cargo basket.
POL and coal dominate
- In the past two decades, petroleum oil and liquid (POL) (crude and products) and coal have dominated the basket of commodities handled at Indian ports. Together, they account for over 50 per cent of the commodities handled at both major and non-major ports.
- The share of containers at major ports has also increased from 15 per cent to 22 per cent between 2003-04 and 2022-23.
- The share of iron ore and fertilisers and fertiliser raw material (FRM) has been declining at both major ports and non-major ports.
