TOTAL throughput at Darwin Port experienced an increase in the second quarter, according to the latest trade statistics available from the port.
This was achieved on the back of bulk exports which totalled 237,664 tonnes for the quarter, an increase of 174% on the January – March quarter. Meanwhile, bulk imports were 69,960 tonnes, down 27%. In total, bulk throughput was down 9% (29,437 tonnes) on the corresponding period in 2019.
Looking at bulk exports, June was the strongest month with 105,226 tonnes exported. Of this, 97,115 tonnes was attributed to mineral manufactures.
For the quarter, the total mineral manufactures exported was 212,822 tonnes with China being the primary destination. Other minor contributors to bulk exports included stone, sand and gravel (9736 tonnes) and animal feeding stuff (7141 tonnes).
During the April – June quarter, the port’s live export trade saw 110,874 head leave the port. This was up 28% on the first quarter and 1% on the last year’s corresponding period. The top three destinations for the 2020 second quarter were Indonesia (80,847 head), Vietnam (19,904 head) and the Philippines (7515 head)
Turning to imports, the main three bulk items unloaded at the port were carboxylic acids (21,555 tonnes), lime, cement and fabricated construction materials (16,826 tonnes) and sulphur and unroasted iron pyrites (4,275 tonnes).
China was the main origin point for all bulk imports for the quarter with 19,935 tonnes. This was closely followed by Singapore (17,615 tonnes) with the Republic of Korea coming in third (12,028 tonnes).
For the quarter, the port received 191,041 kilolitres of residual petroleum products down 12% on the first quarter and 22% on the corresponding period last year. Singapore was the major contributor for the quarter (103,711 kL), followed by Australia (44,424 kL) and Malaysia (42,902 kL).
The port received 1368 units of motor vehicles during the quarter. This was an increase of 18% on the first quarter, but was down 12% on 2019’s numbers.
