The Hindu Business Line : Concor worried over low traffic from Kolkata's Majherhat ICD

Reverse scenario
Large-scale imports of wheat through the west coast ports
Gunny bags being transported to these ports
Less support from traders who opted for road movement

Kolkata , Dec. 25

The Container Corporation of India's (Concor) eastern region office is worried that the volume of domestic traffic moving between the Majherhat ICD (inland container depot) in Kolkata and various North Indian ICDs this fiscal is likely to be less than that in 2005-06, largely due to the uncertainty over the availability of jute goods for movement on the route.

In 2005-06, the throughput was more than 7,000 TEUs while the figure so far in the current fiscal has been around 5,100 TEUs, unlikely to rise to any significant extent any further. "We've not received as yet any order for gunny bag movement for the rabi crops," a spokesman for Concor told Business Line. The gunny bags account for the bulk of traffic handled by Concor on the route.

Every year Concor transports large volumes of gunny bags on the route. "It is a programmed traffic finalised by the Union Government and Food Corporation of India," said the spokesman pointing out that Concor provided total logistics support, i.e. picking up the bags from the jute mills, transporting them by road to the Majherhat ICD, carrying them in container trains to the North Indian ICDs and again delivering them at the designated warehouses as instructed by the FCI.

This year the situation has been somewhat different because of large-scale imports of wheat through the west coast ports. The gunny bags are now being transported to these ports. "There has been not only a diversion of gunny bag traffic to the west coast ports but also a drop in the volumes," the spokesman said. "Lots of gunny bags now pile up at the ports."

There is another problem. Just because fewer container rakes than before were now moving to North India, many smaller traders, who earlier provided piecemeal cargo support for the route, now shied away from Concor and instead opted for road movement.

The support from these traders, if considered individually, was not big enough to form a full rake but contributions from seven of them, when aggregated, was an attractive proposition for Concor.

"Earlier, we used to handle six rakes a month for North India on an average, now declined to 1.5 to 2 rakes," he said.

Interestingly, Concor's export-import traffic in the eastern region is showing an upward trend.

For example, exports from Birganj (Nepal) ICD in September and October at 1,110 TEUs and 1,150 TEUs, respectively were highest monthly throughputs ever.

Similarly, tea exports through the Amingaon ICD till December 15 were about 2,130 TEUs compared to 1,880 TEUs in the same period last year.

"The Amingaon ICD so far handled 29 rakes compared 26 in the same period last year," the spokesman added.

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Concor worried over low traffic from Kolkata's Majherhat ICD