CHINA's Three Gorges Shiplock facilitated the movement of 18 million tonnes of cargo in the first quarter, experiencing growth in container cargo, living supplies and agricultural materials, reports Xinhua.

Foreign trade container increased 7.6 per cent year on year to 1.83 million tonnes, while living supplies went up 21.9 per cent to 3.07 million tonnes, and agricultural materials increased 31.7 per cent to 2.27 million tonnes. But oil shipments remained flat at 1.09 million tonnes.

Cargo moving upstream to Chongqing came to 11.41 million tonnes, accounting for 63.4 per cent of the total. Upstream cargo was mostly of construction materials such as steels and cement and iron ore. Traditionally, downstream cargo is largely coal, though its volume dropped 50 per cent year on year to 2.7 million tonnes.