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Mormugao port turns market-savvy

Sandesh Prabhudesai in Panaji

The Mormugao Port Trust is trying hard to counter Japanese monopoly over Goa's iron-ore exports, by diverting its exports to other countries and also bargaining for a price hike.

The immediate focus of its attention has been China. In the last year, port authorities have consciously attracted Chinese importers towards Goan iron ore, with obvious results. Since 1996-97, exports to China have been gradually increasing, from 1.65 million tonnes to 3.66 million tonnes, a rise of around eight per cent.

That's not to say that Japan is set to lose its premier importer status. Quite on the contrary, exports to Japan increased from 8.50 mt to 9.59 mt, but its share of Goa's ore has reduced by seven per cent, down from 58 per cent to 51 per cent.

"We are trying to kill two birds with one stone. Our efforts are directed towards minimising Japanese monopoly, so that they do not dictate terms to us. Secondly, we are also bargaining for a better price by indicating that we have a market elsewhere," says Dr Jose Paul, MPT chairman.

The other importers are comparatively minor, taking in somewhere between 0.20 mt and 2 mt, with their share altering only marginally. They include South Korea, Romania, Italy, the Netherlands, France, Belgium, Pakistan and few other countries.

Realising that Goa's mineral reserves would not last long, Dr Paul has also prepared a plan to shift its character to a multi-commodity port, in a phased manner. His efforts have started bearing fruit, with its immediate export operation of 50,000 tonnes of sugar beginning next month. Container traffic from Mangalore is also likely to be diverted to Goa.

Dr Paul is also hopeful that the Rs 60 billion Jindal Vijaynagar Steel project, coming up at Bellary, would import coal and other steel products through MPT which, if it comes about, would boost its imports by 1.5 million tonnes, since there now exists a direct railway linkage between Goa and Bellary.

There are also plans to reclaim around 700 acres of land to double the available port area, besides dredging shallow waters, developing additional modern port facilities and wagon unloading facilities, setting up storage and handling facilities for liquid cargo and providing harbour mobile cranes.

Meanwhile, MPT has created all-time record in terms of cargo traffic handling and iron-ore exports, by seeing through 21.88 million tonnes of cargo traffic in 1997-98 in comparison to the previous year's 18.88 million tonnes

The century-old port has also achieved a new record in its specialised utility by exporting 18.70 million tonnes of iron-ore, which amounts to 48 per cent of country's iron-ore exports today.

MPT also achieved a surplus of income over expenditure of Rs 310 million, a rise of 45 per cent over previous year's figures, while the rise in net surplus is almost 64 per cent. However, due to erratic power supply, the exports were affected to the tune of around Rs 800 million which also reduced its profit by Rs 70 million.

The port authorities, however, expect the power situation to stabilise from October onwards, once they start getting quality power from Goa's first mini private power project of Reliance-Salgaocar Pvt Ltd, which would lay a direct line from its Verna power station to Vasco harbour.

The port authorities have now made a strong plea before the national tariff authority, demanding a 54.26 per cent hike in tariff, since the rates have remained static for the last five years. "This is necessary to provide better facilities and modernise the port further," says Dr Paul.