Krishnapatnam Port Container Terminal handled 2.6 lakh tonne of granite blocks for export during April-June 2013 compared to 2.25 lakh tonne in the year-ago period.
During the same period, volume of granite blocks (for export) handled by the Chennai Port Trust (ChPT) declined to 1.50 lakh tonne against 1.92 lakh tonne in the year-ago period. Tuticorin Port also witnessed decline in the volume of this cargo to about 1,560 tonne from 38,618 tonne in the year-ago period.
Reports indicate that quarry owners from places such as Hospet, Bagalot, Adoni and Ongole started using Krishnapatnam Port for export of the cargo instead of their traditional choice of Chennai and Tuticorin Ports.
The reasons for this preference are a number of favourable factors such as proximity, tariff and exclusive rail sidings to handle the shipment.
In the past three years, there has been enormous activity in Andhra Pradesh in the granite sector owing to introduction of flexible policy. The neighbouring state accounts for 42 per cent of IndiaÂ’s production.
Since March 2012, ChPT has been witnessing a downward trend in exports owing to a ban on movement of granite-laden trucks during day time, traffic congestion and delay in reaching consignments to the terminal on time.
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.