A section of the Port of Mombasa. [Photo/ thebigissue.co.ke]
The Port of Mombasa remained steadfast in the handling of cargo amid rising political temperatures in the period between January and September.According to the Kenya Ports Authority managing director Catherine Mturi, the port recorded a 10.6 per cent increase in cargo after handling 22,756,448 tonnes of cargo. The port handled 20,566,156 tonnes during the same period in 2016, which translates to an increase of 2,190,293 tonnes (10.6 percent).Speaking during the KPA two-day regional media workshop at the Whitesands Hotel Mombasa on Monday, Muturi stated that the import cargo traffic increased from last year’s 17,441,818 tonnes to 19,259,046 tonnes in the nine months of 2017, which translates to 10.4 per cent.She said that the rise in the cargo import can be attributed to the increase in dry bulk commodities arriving at the port from different countries in the world, The Star has reported.Refined petroleum, vegetable oils, wheat and fertilizer are among the dry bulk that recorded increases during this period.The importation of wheat increased by 358,038 tonnes, fertilisers by 87,112 tonnes, refined oil by 216,639 tonnes while vegetable oils recorded an increase of 106,120 tonnes.The container traffic increased to 887,412 TEUs from 804,036 TEUs recorded last year during the same period. KPA also revealed that coffee increased by 37.7 percent and tea by 3.6 percent.