SIMIC

CARGO processed at South Korean seaports fell 1.6 per cent year on year in the second quarter on sagging global trade amid an economic slowdown, the nation's Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries said.

Cargo handled at the country's ports nationwide came to 373.16 million tonnes during the April-June period, compared with 379.33 billion tonnes a year earlier. Of them, export-import cargo came to 316.95 billion tonnes, down 0.5 per cent year on year, it added, according to South Korea's Yonhap News Agency.



Container cargo processed at the seaports, however, rose 2.8 per cent year on year to 7.56 million TEU in the second quarter. Of them, processed export-import container cargo grew 4.2 per cent to 4.34 million TEU.



By nation, trade volume with the United States and Japan fell 4.8 per cent and 7.9 per cent, respectively, in the second quarter, while that with China logged a 5 per cent rise, the data showed.



South Korea's handling of transshipment cargo, or cargo processed here en route to final destinations, added 1.1 per cent to 3.18 million TEU.



Non-container cargo handled at the ports fell 2.4 per cent year on year to 243.96 million tonnes in the second quarter, the ministry said.



"The second-quarter container volume inched up despite global uncertainties. But it is difficult to forecast how things will unfold in the second half as container shipping rates have fallen sharply," Oceans Minister Cho Seung-hwan said.