-
Low banana production in Southern Mindanao has been blamed for an 8% drop in Davao International Container Terminal’s cargo throughput in 2022
-
DICT first vice president and general manager Bonifacio Licayan says climate change and Panama disease have affected banana production
-
For January 2023, volumes gained 4% with both reefers and dry boxes recording growth
-
Still, DICT does not expect volumes this year to hit pre-pandemic levels
Davao International Container Terminal’s (DICT) container throughput dropped 8% in 2022, due largely to a decline in reefer shipments such as bananas, a major produce in Southern Mindanao.
The drop to 314,144 twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs) from 342,058 TEUs in 2021 reflects low output of produce, which has been going on for some years now, DICT first vice president and general manager Bonifacio Licayan said in a presentation at the Mindanao leg of the recent PortCalls Visayas and Mindanao Shipping Conference 2023 in Davao City.
Reefer cargo volumes sank 16% to 136,304 TEUs from 162,359 TEUs in 2021 while dry boxes fell 1% to 177,840 TEUs from 179,699 TEUs. Reefers account for 43% of DICT’s total volumes.
Bananas have been affected by climate change and the onslaught of Fusarium wilt or Panama disease, Licayan noted, explaining further that the climate has been “very unfavorable to bananas” for the last four to five years while the Panama disease has wiped out small banana growers.
Bananas and pineapples made up 87% of DICT’s total containerized exports in 2022. Agri-based commodities such as coco products, palm oil, and rubber products, and goods related to banana and pineapple production, such as scrap paper, accounted for the rest.
For imports, hardware accounted for 52% of the total, followed by other products at 22%, packaging materials 18%, coffee 5%, and household goods 4%.
Better 2023 figures
In January 2023, DICT “surprisingly” saw volumes increase, Licayan said, adding that the terminal hopes “we’re seeing now the light at the end of the tunnel”.
Containerized cargo in January 2023 grew 4% to 27,318 TEUs from 26,313 TEUs in 2022. Reefers rose 5% to 13,231 TEUs from 12,566 TEUs while dry boxes gained 2% to 14,087 TEUs from 13,747 TEUs.
Still, Licayan said, DICT does not see volumes this year hitting pre-pandemic levels of around 400,000 TEUs and will be “very happy” with 380,000 TEUs.
“We’re hoping the banana industry will do better” this year, Licayan told PortCalls at the sidelines of the conference.
Within March, DICT expects a new shipping line to call at the port, in addition to the 10 liners already making regular calls.
In 2021, DICT completed its expansion of the Mindanao gateway, bringing annual capacity to 800,000 TEUs.
In 2019 the company said it was embarking on an expansion project as the Panabo, Davao del Sur, terminal is almost at full capacity, and busy handling bigger vessels since it started operations in 2013.
The berth side has been lengthened from 423 meters to 600 meters and is now capable of handling two full-size Panamax vessels at one time.
The container yard has been expanded to a total of 20 hectares, allowing the port to stack containers to the ideal three-high instead of the usual five. A new access road connecting to the north end of the coastal road has also been built. – Roumina Pablo
