Exports raise PH cargo volumes by 1.2% in first quarter

0
1107
Manila South Harbor. File photo from Philippine Ports Authority.
  • Cargo volume at Philippine ports grew 1.2% in the first quarter of 2021, helped along by double-digit growth in export shipments
  • Container volumes rose 3.5% in Q1 2021 vs Q1 2020
  • Export cargoes increased 41% while imports crashed 11%

Cargoes handled by Philippine ports in the first quarter of 2021 inched up 1.2% to 54.853 million metric tons (MT) from 54.218 million MT year-on-year as export volumes posted a double-digit growth during the period.

Foreign cargoes comprised 60% and domestic cargoes 40% of total volumes handled by ports under the Philippine Ports Authority’s (PPA) jurisdiction in the first three months of the year, initial PPA data showed.

Foreign cargoes rose 2.1% to 32.838 million MT from 32.153 million MT. Domestic cargoes slipped 0.23% to 22.014 million MT from 22.065 million MT.

Of the total foreign cargoes, imports accounted for 65% and exports the rest.

Imports dropped 11% to 21.359 million MT from 24.019 million MT. Exports, on the other hand, jumped 41% to 11.48 million MT from 8.134 million MT.

In terms of regions, cargoes handled by Luzon ports accounted for 59% of the total, while Visayas ports serviced 17% and Mindanao ports 23%.

Luzon ports recorded a slightly higher volume at 0.2% to 32.520 million MT in the first quarter of 2021 from 32.453 million MT year-on-year.

Cargo volumes at the Visayas ports rose 5% to 9.470 million MT from 9.012 million MT.

Mindanao ports posted a 1% uptick with 12.862 million MT from 12.753 million MT.

Container volume up 3.5%

Container volumes reached 1.779 million twenty-foot equivalent units (TEU) in the first three months of 2021, up 3.5% from the 1.719 million TEUs in the same period in 2020.

Domestic containers were down 1% to 725,100 TEUs from 731,768 TEUs, while foreign boxes were up 6.7% to 1.054 million TEUs from 987,556 TEUs.

Import containers improved 3.3% to 514,965 TEUs from 498,653 TEUs. Export containers likewise jumped 10.3% to 539,178 TEUs from 488,904 TEUs.

Shipcalls declined 28% to 86,140 vessels from 119,774 vessels.

Domestic shipcalls posted a 28.8% drop to 83,546 vessels from 117,404 vessels a year ago, while foreign shipcalls grew 9.5% to 2,594 vessels from 2,370 vessels.

Passenger traffic was hit the hardest due to travel restrictions imposed in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

For the first quarter of the year, passenger traffic plunged 68.6% to 5.2 million from 16.585 million in the same period last year.

Disembarked passengers decreased 68% to 2.636 million from 8.318 million, while embarked passengers contracted 69% to 2.564 million from 8.235 million. There were no cruise ship passengers in the first quarter of 2021 as opposed to 31,340 recorded in the same period in 2020.

Roll-on/roll-off (Ro-Ro) traffic fell 11.5% to 1.612 million from 1.822 million in the first quarter of 2020.

Inbound Ro-Ro traffic dropped 10.7% to 814,255 from 911,620, while outbound Ro-Ro traffic shrank 12% to 798,233 from 910,217.

PPA general manager Jay Daniel Santiago earlier said cargo volumes are forecast to grow by 7% this year after suffering a double-digit decline in 2020 caused by the pandemic.

READ: PPA sees 7% cargo growth with easing of restrictions

Cargo volume is seen to increase to 246.7 million MT in 2021 from 230.44 million MT in 2020. For 2022, cargo volumes are forecast to increase by 1% to 249.17 million MT, and by 3% in 2023 to 256.29 million MT.

READ: PH container volume projected to grow up to 8% in 2021

For containers, Santiago foresees a 6% to 8% increase this year. For 2022, container growth is anticipated to decelerate to 1%, while in 2023, it should accelerate to 3%.

In terms of passenger traffic, PPA expects a 1% to 2% improvement this year but this will still be “way below the pre-COVID-19 traffic of almost 84 million passengers annually.”

Santiago said the growth forecasts are consistent with the assumptions of the government’s economic cluster.

He said PPA is “optimistically conservative” about its growth expectations since the increase in cargo volumes will depend on the easing of people’s movements, as this can improve domestic consumption, the main driver of the country’s trade. – Roumina Pablo