NPA statistics show improving business horizon in Nigeria

Emerging statistics from the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA), may have indicated a growing trend of business as monthly reports of shipping activities showed cargo throughput in July 2011 stood at 7,275,087 metric tonnes (MT), an 8.6 per cent increase over the same period of July 2010 figures which posted a 6,692,829 MT.Cargo throughput is the quantum of both the inward and the outward cargo processed by the port, in a given period.The NPA General Manager, Public Affairs, Chief Mike Kayode Ajayi, who confirmed this at the weekend, also noted that out of this figure, inward cargo traffic amountedto 4,817,267 metric tonnes representing 66 per cent of the total cargo throughput while the outward cargo amounted to 2,457,820 metric tonnes representing 34 per cent of the total cargo throughput.'An analysis of the commodity shows that for the inward cargo, general cargo recorded the highest figure of 1,862,391 metric tonnes, while liquid bulk cargo and dry bulk cargo recorded 1,853,995 metric tonnes and 1,100,881 metric tonnes, respectively.'For the outward traffic, liquid bulk cargo recorded the highest tonnage of 2,324,177, while general cargo amounted to 133,643 metric tonnes,' he stated further, and lauded government efforts towards boosting international trade, highlighting that the observed significant surge in liquefied natural gas which accounted for the highest tonnage of outward traffic was a reflection of government's effort to diversify the economy.Offering a breakdown of the statistics, the NPA spokesman stated that there was also a remarkable increase in containers and vehicle traffic as against the same period in 2010, pointing out that laden container throughput stood at 64,188 TEUs, showing a 19.3 per cent increase, over the same period of July 2010 figure, which was 54,155 TEUs.'Empty container throughput stood at 41,675TEUs, showing a rise of 17.1 per cent over the July, 2010 figure of 35,582. Also, vehicle traffic in the month under review stood at 19,292 units, representing a 41 per cent increase over the July, 2010 figure of 13,682 units,' he remarked further, attributing the improvement to the ongoing effort of the NPA management to regularly engage in dredging of the channels so as to ensure that they were deeper, safer and more navigable.He assured the nation's business class that the ports would continue to meet the increasing demands and challenges of attracting bigger vessels with higher volumes of cargo, as a result of its determination to remain proactive, focused and dynamic.
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