Maritime trade to hit 19m tonnes

Maritime trade is projected to record a total volume of 19 million tonnes in 2012, an increase of 20 percent over last year’s 17.9 million tonnes, Bashiru Hakim of the Research Department of the Ghana Shippers’ Authority has told B&FT.

The volume of maritime trade was 4.86 million tonnes at the two ports in Tema and Takoradi during the second quarter of 2012. Of this, total imports were 3.67 million tonnes representing 76 percent while total exports amounted to 1.19 million tonnes, representing 24 percent.

The Tema Port handled over 79 percent of the total trade, which was over 3.84 million tonnes, while the Takoradi Port handled the remaining 21 percent amounting to 1.02 million tonnes of the total trade volume.

 Additionally, transit tonnage during the period was 161,905 tonnes at the two ports, accounting for three percent of the total maritime trade.

Data on the type of trade show total liner trade, on the import side, amounted to over 1.51 million tonnes in the second quarter. This was 20 percent more than what was recorded for the same period in 2011.

Dry bulk import trade for the period was eight percent more than the tonnage recorded for the same period in 2011, while the liquid bulk trade saw a 24 percent jump from the second quarter of 2011.

On the export side, total liner trade was 589,315 tonnes in the second quarter, down 12 percent from a year ago. Dry bulk export trade was 568,455 tonnes, an increase of 15 percent during the review period.

 Direction of trade During the second half, a greater share of imports -- 29 percent -- into the country came from the Far East, while the North Continent contributed the second-largest share of 20 percent. The share of imports from Africa was 10 percent.

 Forty-nine percent of exports went to the Far East in the period, 17% to the North Continent region, and 4% to Africa. Major import items in the liner trade included processed food and beverages (194,054 tonnes), machinery and equipment (112,418 tonnes) and Iron/Steal/Pipes (172,935 tonnes).

 For dry bulk trade, major import items included grains (136,495 tonnes), fertiliser (83,848 tonnes), cement (186,330 tonnes) and clinker (494,208 tonnes).

Major liquid bulk import items were petroleum products (740,924 tonnes) and crude oil (244,749 tonnes).

Major liner export items for the review period included cocoa beans which contributed 193,426 tonnes, and cashew nuts (62,759 tonnes).

Cocoa products contributed 36,273 tonnes; metal scraps, 39,233 tonnes; timber logs, 34,592 tonnes; and sawn timber, 98,051 tonnes.

 In the dry bulk export trade, major export items were manganese (401,543 tonnes), bauxite (129,281 tonnes) and sheanuts (17,315 tonnes).

The liquid bulk items were mostly petroleum products. Major countries whose transit trade passed through the sea ports of Ghana included Burkina Faso, whose share was 64 percent.

 This was followed by Togo with 11.20 percent; Mali with 9 percent; Niger with 7.1 percent; and Ivory Coast with 2.3 percent.