Cargo throughput slips 18pc at S Korean seaports on coronavirus

CARGO handled at South Korean seaports totalled 117.34 million tonnes in August, down 18.2 per cent from 143.43 million tonnes a year earlier, according to the data by the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries.

The handling of export-import cargo shrank 19.7 per cent year on year to 100.8 million tonnes last month, leading the overall decline.



Hit by the coronavirus pandemic, container cargo last month dropped 3.9 per cent to 2.32 million TEU compared to August 2019.



A total of 130,000 TEU of export-import freight was processed, down 4.3 per cent from a year earlier, and transshipment cargo, or cargo processed en route to final destinations, also decreased 3.2 per cent from a year ago to 1 million TEU.



Busan on the southeastern tip of South Korea was the country's busiest maritime gateway last month, with its container cargo handling totalling 1.73 million TEU, followed by Incheon, west of Seoul, with 274,000 TEU, according to Yonhap News Agency.


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