● The Philippine Ports Authority is optimistic it will exceed its revenue and cargo volume targets this year due to increased economic activity
● From January to October 2024, ports under PPA jurisdiction handled 244.724 million metric tons of cargoes, just 43.836 million mt shy of the full-year target volume of 288.56 million
● For next year, PPA targets to handle 301.47 million mt of cargoes and 85.41 million passengers, and raise revenues of P28.11 billion
The Philippine Ports Authority (PPA) is optimistic it will exceed its revenue and cargo volume targets this year due to increased economic activity, general manager Jay Daniel Santiago said in a media briefing on December 6.
From January to October 2024, ports under PPA jurisdiction handled 244.724 million metric tons (mt) of cargoes, just 43.836 million mt shy of the full-year target of 288.56 million. The 2024 volume goal is 6% higher than the 272.46 million mt recorded in 2023.
Santiago said PPA is “very bullish” about the country’s trade, with the increase in economic activity, particularly for exports, which has recorded increases in volume recently. On the import side, he noted that volumes historically increase during November, December, and January as traders rush their shipments before the lull in activities during the celebration of Chinese New Year in February.
For next year, PPA targets to handle 301.47 million mt.
For passenger traffic, PPA ports welcomed 73.637 million passengers from January to October 2024, 10.8% lower than the 65.667 million year-on-year.
Cruise ship passengers accounted for 88,048 of the total. By year-end, such passengers are expected to reach 123,185.
Santiago said they expect passenger traffic to increase by 5.9% to 78 million this year from 73.63 million in 2023.
For 2025, PPA expects to handle 85.41 million passengers.
For the first 10 months of the year, PPA reported revenues of P22.58 billion, 7.7% higher than last year same period’s revenue of P20.96 billion.
Santiago said PPA is also confident it will meet its target revenue of P26.78 billion for the full year, and is looking at P28.11 billion for next year.
