Container throughput in major ports across China continue to increase during the month of December, media reports said. During the first 10 days of December, container throughput at China’s eight key ports increased 3.1 percent year-on-year. This is mainly attributed to the fact that economic activities in the country are gradually resuming after being halted for months due to the lockdown periods.
According to the China Ports and Harbours Association, growth rate at Shanghai and Shenzhen ports exceeded 10 percent during the period. Also, the container throughput for foreign trade increased by 4.8 percent from a year earlier during the same period, up 1 percentage point from that registered in the previous 10 days. The growth in foreign trade container volume was attributed to China’s manufacturing sector resuming activities in full swing.
Data released by the China Ports and Harbours Association last month also revealed that cargo throughput at major coastal Chinese ports increased by 2 percent, even though export cargo throughput declined by 1.3 percent year-on-year. Similarly, container volumes at eight major Chinese ports increased by 8.9 percent year-on-year in mid-November. During the same period, export container volumes also increased 9.5 percent, while the inland container volume increased 7.4 percent. The ports in Tianjin, Shanghai, Xiamen and Shenzhen all posted over 10 percent growth rate while Ningbo-Zhoushan’s maintained an extremely strong growth of 30 percent in mid-November.
Last month, it was reported that Venezuela has resumed sending crude oil shipments to China despite US sanctions. China is the biggest buyer of Venezuelan crude. Previously, Venezuela sold oil to China via ship-to-ship transfers at sea, however, now Venezuela will deliver crude directly to Chinese shores.