The government’s Census and Statistics Department has announced that the throughput of cargo at Hong Kong ports in the first quarter of this year increased by 3.8% compared to the previous year, reaching 42.8 million metric tons. Of this total, cargo arriving at ports and departing from ports increased by 4.9% and 2% respectively, reaching 27.5 million metric tons and 15.3 million metric tons.
Seasonally adjusted cargo throughput volume in the first quarter increased by 10.4% compared to the previous quarter. Among these figures, cargo arriving at ports and departing from ports increased by 10.5% and 10.4% respectively.
Within the cargo handled at the ports, maritime cargo decreased by 1.4% compared to the same period last year, amounting to 26.9 million metric tons, while river cargo increased by 14.2%, reaching 15.9 million metric tons during the same period.
In comparison to the same period last year, the main loading countries or regions that recorded double-digit percentage increases in cargo arriving at Hong Kong ports in the first quarter of this year were Singapore (30.2% increase), Taiwan (28.1% increase), and Mainland China (14.4% increase). On the other hand, the United States (-24.4%), Malaysia (-17.0%), Japan (-13.5%), and Indonesia (-12.5%) saw double-digit percentage declines.
For cargo departing from ports, Australia recorded a 31.2% increase and Malaysia a 16.0% increase in cargo volume, while South Korea (-15.9%), the United States (-14.8%), and Japan (-12.6%) experienced double-digit declines.
In terms of specific goods, “stone, sand, and gravel” saw a 30.3% increase in cargo arriving at Hong Kong ports, while “petroleum, petroleum products, and by-products” had a 15.8% increase. For cargo departing from ports, “stone, sand, and gravel” saw a significant increase of 107.2%, while “synthetic resins and plastics” decreased by 10.5%, “pulp and waste paper” decreased by 11.3%, and “meat and edible meat offal” decreased by 19.8%.
During the first quarter of this year, Hong Kong’s ports handled 3.32 million twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs) of containers, a decrease of 3.2% compared to the previous year. Of these, loaded containers and empty containers decreased by 2.1% and 7.3% respectively, amounting to 2.67 million TEUs and 660,000 TEUs. Among loaded containers, those arriving at and departing from ports decreased by 1.9% and 2.4% respectively, totaling 1.43 million TEUs and 1.24 million TEUs.