Import shipments carried by foreign shipping lines operating in the Philippines improved in the first nine months of the year while export volumes remained anemic, the latter partly due to lower banana exports following strict quarantine requirements imposed by China.
From January to September, laden import containers handled by carriers reached 1.116 million twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs), up 4.52% from P1.066 million TEUs year-on-year, based on data provided to PortCalls by an international shipping line.
Export volume totaled 489,020 TEUs or 5.97% below the previous period’s 459,679 TEUs.
“Import volume was on the rise for that period because of the start of the peak season,” a PortCalls source who requested anonymity said.
“We are looking at import volume growing at this level until the end of the year not only for Manila but also for other areas such as Davao and Cebu,” the source, a foreign shipping line executive, said.
“Export levels are expected to modestly rebound in the last quarter of the year too.”
At the start of the year, foreign shipping lines forecast better business this year than last, thanks to growth in regional markets, specifically China and India.
