Trade Flows

Feb 04, 2010 (LBO) – Cargo volumes at a government-owned container terminal in Sri Lanka’s Colombo port went up in December from a year ago, as trade flows picked up with global recession coming to an end. Total volumes at SAGT have largely been growing this year, although domestic import/export volumes have been hit by a slump in trade due to the global recession. The Sri Lanka Ports Authority (SLPA) said in a statement it handled a total of 153,317 20-foot containers in December 2009, up 12.5 percent from the same month a year ago.

Volumes at SLPA terminals had slumped in 2009 as trade slowed down and it also lost market share to the privately-owned South Asian Gateway Terminals majority-owned by the John Keells Holdings conglomerate

Container volumes in the whole port, including that of SAGT, rose 19.2 percent in December 2009 to 309,009 TEUs (Twenty-foot Equivalent container Units) from a year ago, the SLPA said.

South Asian Gateway Terminals, in which JKH has a 42.2 percent stake, said earlier it handled a record high volume of containers in 2009 despite a global economic slump which reduced shipping volumes worldwide.

Volumes at SAGT went up 1.4 percent to a new annual high of 1,7