“The Indian seaports are the gateways of the international trade.” Justify the statement.

Foreign trade or international trade is the exchange of goods and services between countries. It is an important component of the economy. International trade can be stated as the measure of any country’s economic wealth.

Waterways are the cheapest and easiest way of carrying bulky goods over long distances. One of its greatest benefits is that it does not require any route construction or maintenance. Waterways can be inland waterways or sea routes. Navigable rivers, canals, backwaters and lakes are used as inland waterways. It was the major means of transportation before the advent of railways and roadways. Sea routes and oceanic routes are mostly used for transporting bulky goods from one country to another. Waterways are a major means of domestic and foreign trade.

With a long coastline of 7,516.6 km, India is dotted with 12 major and 187 minor ports. These major ports handle 95 per cent of India’s foreign trade. Waterways are the gateway to international trade. The following are the important ports in the country:

• Kandla port (Kuchchh): It was the first port to be developed immediately after independence. Its main aim was to reduce the volume of trade through the Mumbai port that had increased due to the loss of Karachi port to Pakistan after the partition. It mainly focuses on the exports and imports from the fertile lands and industrial belt that stretches across Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan and Gujarat.

• Mumbai port: It is the biggest port in the country. It also caters to the export and import requirements of the Mumbai-Pune industrial belt. The Jawaharlal Nehru port was scheduled to reduce the trade load of the Mumbai port and to be established as the core port for the region.

• Marmagao port (Goa): It concentrates on the export of iron ore from the country. Nearly 50% of the iron ore export of the country is enabled from this port.

• New Mangalore port (Karnataka): It concentrates on the export of iron ore from the country. It enables the export of iron ore procured from the Kudremukh mines.

• Tuticorin port (Tamil Nadu): This port concentrates on the import and export of different commodities to our neighbouring countries including Sri Lanka and the Maldives, apart from to the coastal regions of India.

Thus it can rightly be said that the Indian seaports are the gateways of international trade.