Cargo volume
down 6% in first two months
AFTER posting positive growth last year,
cargo throughput in the first two months of the year nose
dived 6.18% due to the sluggish performance of both foreign
and local cargoes, which dropped 9.26% and 3.06% (see table),
respectively.
The transfer of cargoes from Philippine Ports Authority (PPA)-operated
port Cagayan de Oro port to nearby Mindanao Container Terminal
also affected performance for the period in review.
In a report, the PPA said the sluggish showing reflects volatility
in the national economy.
The PPA explained the decline in domestic cargo volume, specifically
at the South Harbor, is attributed to reduced vessel deployment
of the Aboitiz Transport System and the marked decrease of
cargoes handled at the Terminal Management Office in Pasig.
The ports of Legazpi, Surigao and Cagayan de Oro contributed
to the decline, posting dips of 9.54%, 8.47% and 25.01%, respectively.
Export and import cargoes both posted negative growths of
9.03% and 9.69%, respectively. Export cargoes declined in
Surigao (predominantly shipping mineral ores), Nasipit (nickel
ores), Tagbilaran (limestone) and Ormoc (nickel, copra and
chrome) due to diminishing demand for commodities.
Import products also declined at the North Harbor (mainly
shipping lumber), Batangas (crude and petroleum products)
and Ormoc (copper cathode and copper concentrate).
Container traffic continued its uptrend, increasing 4.75%
for the period in review from 587,315 TEUs to 615,315 TEUs
mainly due to active exports.
Total foreign containerized shipments grew 5.85% from 346,315
TEUs last year to 366,563 TEUs for the period in review. Import
containerized cargoes saw a 2.34% increase while export boxes
registered a 9.30% growth from 174,400 TEUs to 190,625 TEUs
for the period.
PPA said the volume of foreign containerized cargo received
at the Manila International Container Terminal, General Santos
and Davao significantly contributed to the bulk of the increase
despite the slight decrease in volume at the South Harbor.
Domestic containerized cargoes grew 3.17% from 241,117 TEUs
to 248,752 TEUs.
Passenger traffic rose 165,102 or 2.58% due to activity in
the ports of Batangas, Calapan, Pulupandan, Zamboanga, Ozamiz,
Dumaguete, Iloilo, Iligan and Ormoc.
Zamboanga was the only port that reported receiving foreign
passengers.
Vessel traffic posted an increase of 5.24% compared to last
year. Domestic and foreign shipcalls both rose 5.35% and 1.58%,
respectively, during the period.
Earlier, the PPA said it does not expect stellar throughput
growth in the next three to four years as expansion in the
10 key ports being groomed to achieve world standards by 2010
is limited to less than 5%.
The PPA forecasts that of the 10 ports, six will post a combined
2.5-5% growth until 2010. The remaining ports are projected
to have flat to negative growth due to the slow Philippine
economy.
International shipping lines operating out of the Philippines
also project flat growth this year due to the global economic
slowdown which will impinge on consumer spending.
|
Cargo Traffic for Jan-Feb 2008
|
|
|
Jan-Feb |
Inc/(Dec)
|
|
2008
|
2007 |
Volume |
% |
Cargo (mmt)
|
20.86
|
22.24
|
(1.37)
|
(6.18)
|
Domestic
|
10.72
|
11.06
|
(0.34)
|
(3.06)
|
Foreign
|
10.15
|
11.18
|
(1.04)
|
(9.26)
|
| Import |
6.66
|
7.32
|
(0.66)
|
(9.03)
|
Export |
3.49
|
3.86
|
(0.37)
|
(9.69)
|
|
|
|
|
|
Container (in TEUs)
|
615,315
|
587,437
|
27,883
|
4.75
|
Domestic
|
248,752
|
241,117
|
7,635
|
3.17
|
Foreign
|
366,563
|
346,315
|
20,248
|
5.85
|
| Import |
175,938
|
171,915
|
4,023
|
2.34
|
Export |
190,625
|
174,400
|
16,225
|
9.30
|
|
|
|
|
|
Passenger (millions)
|
6.561
|
6.196
|
0.365
|
5.89
|
Domestic
|
6.557
|
6.190
|
0.367
|
5.93
|
Foreign
|
0.003
|
0.005
|
(0.002)
|
(35.34)
|
|
|
|
|
|
Shipcalls |
48,434
|
46,025
|
2,409
|
5.23
|
Domestic
|
46,955
|
44,569
|
2,386
|
5.35
|
Foreign
|
1,479
|
1,456
|
23
|
1.58
|
|
|
|
|
|
Source: Philippine Ports Authority
|
|
|
|
|
Back to Top
AEO set to replace SGL
THE phaseout of the Super Green Lane (SGL)
looms with the impending implementation of the Authorized
Economic Operator (AEO) measure in the Philippines.
AEO accreditation standards are expected to be more stringent
than those of SGL, making the latter redundant.
Under the World Customs Organization-sponsored AEO, reliable
traders that meet specified criteria may obtain facilitation
from security measures and also ask for simplification as
provided for under customs rules.
The form the AEO will take for the Philippines will be deliberated
upon in next week’s 1st National Conference on Safe
Trade and AEO being organized by the Aircargo Forwarders of
the Philippines, Inc. The conference takes place on May 13-14
at the SMX Convention Center in Pasay City.
A conference highlight is the breakout session, where delegates
will be able to provide their inputs on what they think should
be part of the AEO Philippine model.
The conference is the first of its kind where private sector
participation is actively sought in the crafting of a key
measure.
SGL-accredited importers
Importers accredited under SGL are, however, pushing for the
enhancement of SGL procedures rather than its outright replacement.
“We should use the existing SGL and enhance its procedures...
we could use it as our AEO system to facilitate compliance
with the newest safe trade measure,” the SGL users said.
“There is no need for an entirely new procedure as all
the requirements needed under the AEO such as registration
of importers, brokers, etc are also provided under the SGL.
We just have to change the name SGL to AEO,” the group
added.
The importers said that if SGL is used as basis for the AEO,
stakeholders simply have to comply with whatever additional
regulations from the Bureau of Customs instead of starting
from scratch.
Under the SGL, importers can pre-clear their cargoes and forego
several physical examination processes as long as the importer
is accredited under the program.
The AEO is also aimed at pre-clearance of cargoes at its destination
as long as it is from an AEO in the country of origin.
The SGL-accredited importers are seeking an audience with
the BOC to discuss how the SGL could be transformed into the
AEO. They also want to know BOC’s AEO compliance plans.
SGL operator and BOC-accredited value-added service provider
Intercommerce Network Service (INS) echoed the sentiment of
importers, saying the SGL is enough basis for an AEO.
But INS president Francis Lopez said the existing system should
be improved to include additional safety and security measures.
“There is no need to phase out the SGL; it has to be
simply enhanced to meet the requirements of the AEO system,”
Lopez said.
Back to Top
ATS earmarks P1B for Mindanao expansion
ABOITIZ Transport Corp (ATS) is investing
about P1 billion to expand operations in Northern Mindanao
to accommodate increasing demand for containerized shipping.
The amount will be used to develop its own container freight
station (CFS) adjacent to the Cagayan de Oro (CDO) port.
ATS acquired the four-hectare land from Capicor, a rice trader
from the area. The property acquisition took longer than expected
as both parties first asked the Bureau of Internal Revenue
to determine the property’s real capital gains value.
“Investments from the private sector are mushrooming
in Cagayan de Oro.. we expect (this will) boost the performance
of the port, particularly freight,” CDO port manager
Efren Bollozos said in an interview.
He explained the new CFS would complement operations of the
port and reduce congestion, resulting in better efficiency
and faster turnaround for cargoes.
ATS is slowly shifting operations from passenger to freight
by converting its unused passage capacity to make room for
its containerized and ro-ro services.
The ro-ro service has lately been gaining ground, currently
contributing over 23% to ATS’s freight business.
In the last two years, ro-ro capacity has swelled more than
20%.
Back to Top
Refundable tax levy on imports soon in place
THE Department of Finance (DOF) will soon
implement a refundable 30% tax levy on all import products
through the country’s ecozones.
The move is designed to guarantee that all products shipped
through the ecozones will be consumed within the area. The
30% will serve as payment guarantee if ever such products
are shipped out of the zones.
The percentage, to be computed from the total dutiable amount
of the goods, will be held in escrow and canceled if there
is no tax deficiency for the products.
“I believe in taking preventive rather than curative
(measures). We are planning to levy the amount on all products
passing through the ecozone as an assurance or initial payment
of taxes for the products,” Finance Secretary Margarito
Teves said in a recent interview during the Ro-Ro caravan
held last week.
“We believe that not all products are consumed within
the ecozones and the amount to be collected is just an assurance
that the shipper will pay its obligation. If not, then at
least we have collected a significant amount from such products,”
Teves added.
He said negotiations are ongoing with the Subic Bay Metropolitan
Authority and the Clark ecozone for the initial implementation
of the refundable levy.
The DOF is fine tuning provisions of measure’s implementing
guidelines for release in the next few days.
Back to Top
Delivery of oil products faces delays
A SLOWDOWN in oil products delivery may be
looming due to compliance issues of tanker-barge operators
owning single-hull vessels with the double-hull requirement.
It may be recalled that the Maritime Industry Authority (Marina)
last month extended until end of the year the deadline for
single-hull tanker-barge operators to comply with the double-hull
requirement.
Under the extension, however, operators must pay a P25,000
penalty per day until full compliance and a P5-million bond
for each single-hull vessel in use as seed money in case of
oil spills. The bond is refundable upon compliance and if
no incident involving the vessels occurs.
The Philippine Petroleum Sea Transport Association (Philpesta)
called the penalty clause unnecessary and is asking Marina
to reconsider it. “We believe the bond held in escrow
by the authority is enough to cover for whatever liabilities
an operator has in cases of oil spills,” it said.
“It is even more profitable to operate just the compliant
tankers and park the single-hull tankers while waiting for
their replacement,” Philpesta added.
Based on estimates, the 20 tanker-barges operated by Philpesta
members will cough up P14 million a month starting this month
or roughly P112 million for the entire eight-month extension
period.
Last March, Philpesta asked Marina to exempt tanker-barges
carrying persistent oil plying the coastwise trade from the
double-hull tanker requirement claiming the impending transfer
of the Pandacan oil depot, the key market for barges, will
render refleeting immaterial as there is no guarantee for
a return of investments beyond 2013.
There are at least 20 tanker-barges carrying black oil plying
the coastwise trade. Most have yet to initiate compliance
with the requirement.
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