Wednesday, January 16, 2013

Maritime trade expands


Total maritime trade for the third quarter of 2012 jumped 9 percent year-on-year to 4.6 million tonnes, according to Ghana Shippers Authority figures obtained by the B&FT.
 
This was made up of about 3.6 million tonnes of imports, representing 77 percent of the total, and over one million tonnes of exports. 

Ms. Sylvia Asana Owu, Head of Shipper’s Services at the Ghana Shippers Authority, explaining the maritime trade situation for the review period, said: “Total cargo volume at the port of Tema was over 3.42 million tonnes. 

“This represents 73 percent of the total volume of trade through the two seaports. The Takoradi port handled over 1.26 million tonnes.”

Total import tonnage handled at the Takoradi port rose by 70 percent while exports went up by 19.7 percent, leading to a 37 percent increase overall in maritime trade through the port.

The majority of imports came from the Far East range, one of seven trading ranges, and amounted to 1.2 million tonnes or 33 percent of the total. The North Continent range contributed the next highest tonnage of 683,928 tonnes or 19 percent of total imports.

This was followed by the Mediterranean Europe range with 566,557 tonnes or 16 percent of the total, while the African range followed next with 15 percent of imports into Ghana.

Major import items in the liner trade category included pharmaceuticals and medical supplies (13,693 tonnes), lubricating oil (18,115 tonnes) and processed food and beverages (166,127 tonnes). 

In the dry bulk trade, major import items included alumina (10,373 tonnes), fertilizer (72,289 tonnes), cement (165,000 tonnes) and clinker (629,258 tonnes). The major liquid bulk import items were petroleum products (563,421 tonens) and chemicals (166,605 tonnes). 

Export Trade
About 40% of the export trade, amounting to 429,386 tonnes, was shipped to the Far East range.  The North Continent range received 28 percent, equivalent to 298,644 tonnes, followed by Mediterranean Europe range with 188,360 tonnes or 17 percent.

Exports to Africa were only 3 percent of the total. The major liner export items included cashew nuts and cocoa beans which contributed 24,566 tonnes and 81,794 tonnes respectively. 

Cocoa products amounted to 44,230 tonnes; metal scraps, 31,297 tonnes; timber logs, 49,045 tonnes; and sawn timber, 75,463 tonnes. In the dry bulk export trade, major export items were manganese (395,186 tonnes), bauxite (211,107 tonnes) and sheanuts (17,750 tonnes). 

The liquid bulk items were mostly petroleum products amounting to 9,152 tonnes.

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