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This file photo shows stacks of import-export cargo containers at a port in Incheon, west of Seoul. (Yonhap) |
The volume of cargo handled at local sea ports came to 128.9 million tons last month, compared with 131 million tons posted a year earlier, according to the data compiled by the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries.
Handling of export-import cargo also shrank 1 percent on-year to 111.1 million tons last month.
The ministry attributed the decrease to the COVID-19 pandemic, which has dealt a harsh blow to the global business activities.
“Despite the uncertainties, the amount of cargo handled at local ports is expected to recover when the virus curve flattens,” a ministry official said.
Container cargo processed at the seaports, on the other hand, advanced 3.8 percent on-year to reach 2.47 million twenty-foot-equivalent units (TEUs), according to the ministry. TEU stands for a 20-foot equivalent unit.
The growth came as the government allocated special shipping schedules to American and Southeast Asian routes last year, with the demand from the Americas also posting a recovery since September. (Yonhap)
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