A consignment of 4,732 tonnes of rice in 182 containers arrived at the International Container Transshipment Terminal at Vallarpadam on Saturday, marking the culmination of efforts by the traffic and marketing teams of Cochin Port Trust (CPT) to increase the volume of coastal cargo.
The consignment is for the Food Corporation of India (FCI) for public distribution in the State. It was shipped from the Kakinada Port in Andhra Pradesh and arrived in Kochi via Krishnapatnam.
Until recently, the FCI had been transporting rice consignments predominantly by rail, and the shift to coastal shipping has proved cost-effective for the agency, said a communication from CPT. It is expected that 10,000 tonnes of rice will come from Andhra Pradesh to Kerala every month.
The communication said the arrival of the coastal cargo on SSL Kochi was part of efforts by the Shipping Ministry to promote coastal movement of cargo under the ambitious Sagarmala programme, which aims to exploit the 7,500-km coastline and 14,500 km of potentially navigable waterways and ports.
CPT Chairperson M. Beena thanked the FCI and the carrier Avana Logistek for making the coastal movement of rice happen. She said efforts were on to bring wheat from Punjab and Haryana to Kerala using coastal shipping. It will add volume to the port cargo throughput, besides offering a cost-effective solution for bulk transport.
