Phnom Penh port traffic up 32%

BEIJING - India's move to prevent or make it more difficult for telecommunication companies to buy equipment from Chinese companies is a violation of the World Trade Organization (WTO) norms and clearly smacks of trade protectionism, experts said on Wednesday.

Though the Indian government has not made any official announcement in this regard, sources said the nation has stopped approvals of Chinese telecom gear imports, citing security concerns.

"The move is discriminatory and the explanation does not make any sense," said He Weiwen, an executive council member of the China Society for WTO Studies.

Freight shipments through Phnom Penh Autonomous Port last month increased by 32 percent on April 2009, Phnom Penh Post reported.

A total of 4,207 TEUs were shipped to and from the transport hub in April 2010, compared to 3,186 TEUs one year earlier.

Director General of Phnom Penh Autonomous Port, Hei Bavy, said that the increase resulted from a rise in shipping of goods such as rice, red corn, soy beans, general goods and construction materials.

“We hope that the increase will continue in the coming months, as Cambodia’s demand for materials increases.

“At the same time, the export of agricultural products is also increasing a lot,” said Hei Bavy.

Phnom Penh Autonomous Port, which has links with the new Vietnamese deepwater port Cai Mep, plans to increase its shipments of TEUs by 44 percent this year in order to reach the 62,500 containers per year mark.

Hei Bavy said: “I believe that as long as consumption demand increases, the demand of shipment services will keep increasing too.”

In order to increase its shipment services, the port has set out development plans to equip the port with cranes for loading and unloading heavy goods. New warehouses are set to store goods.

Officials are also cooperating with companies from South Korea to obtain technology to enable the port to examine agricultural materials, as buyers start to purchase products directly from Cambodia.

“I think that the future of Cambodian agriculture is the main factor in ensuring the increase of shipment services at the port in the future,” Hei Bavy said.

The rise in freight at the port is a pattern experienced by other haulage companies in recent months.

Sok Chheang, executive director of the Cambodia Trucking Association, which comprises of 16 big transportation companies, said that the transport services are increasing compared to the same time last year.

Source: Cargo News Asia