Port of Antwerp eyes growing trade with India

MUMBAI (Reuters) - The Port of Antwerp is planning to be a gateway for Indian imports to Europe and sees more manufactured goods sourced from the country in the future, an official said on Monday.

The port, which receives and distributes granite, steel, textiles and chemicals from India, sees these imports rising along with auto components, Raj Khalid, Representative-India, told reporters on the sidelines of a ports and shipping conference.

"Eventually, we think that our growth and the future of this port will be determined by a lot of what happens in India, and we want to put all our efforts into this market," he said.

The port, which handled 182.9 million tonnes of freight in 2007, is holding a two-day interaction for Indian logistics players in May, Khalid said.

Conventional cargo from India to the port, which has 500 acres of covered warehousing, is at about 4-5 million tonnes a year, though it was still hard to project the exact amount given trans-shipments, he said.