Mindanao Container Terminal (MCT) in southern Philippines handled 210,507 twenty-foot equivalent units in 2011, 16.9% more than the previous year’s 180,000 TEUs and slightly over last year’s target of 210,000 TEUs.
“The economy last year was better than in 2010, and this is the reason why we posted a volume growth,” Phividec Industrial Authority seaport department manager Dante Clarito recently told PortCalls. Phividec owns the terminal.
“The figure could have been higher if not for the slowdown in the volume of wood products in the second half of the 2011,” Clarito said, noting that the lower-than-anticipated volume of wood products was due to stricter logging rules imposed by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources in the region.
“Nonetheless, businesses in the region remain vibrant… also hopefully we can go back to normal soon after the disaster (floods) that hit nearby province Cagayan de Oro last month,” Clarito said.
Located at Tagoloan, Misamis Oriental, MCT has five direct callers: APL, Mariana Express, Maersk Line, Regional Container Lines, and Pacific Eagle Lines which maintain at least a weekly call. There have been instances though that calls went up to thrice a week due to higher demand.
Among the region’s exports are beauty soaps and cosmetics, construction materials such as cement and paints, banana, cacao, mango planting materials and other fruits seeds, and alcoholic beverages for consumption in hotels and restaurants.
Imports include construction materials such as tiles and roofs; virgin coconut oil, including essential oils; tuna; wood moldings; knock-down houses; yellow corn; copra; furniture; charcoals; and handicrafts.
In 2010, MCT began handling agricultural products shipped to and from Brunei and North Sulawesi.
MCT is operated by Mindanao International Container Terminal Services, Inc, a subsidiary of International Container Terminal Services, Inc.
Photo courtesy of ICTSI
