Cargo handling at S. Korean seaports dips 1.6% in Jan.

South Korea's cargo volume at local seaports dropped 1.6 percent to 128.9 million tons n January from 131 million tons posted in the same month last year,

According to the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries, the export-import cargo handling also dipped one percent on-year to 111.1 million tons last month.

The ministry attributed the drop to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on global business activities.

A ministry official noted that they expect the amount of cargo handled at local ports to recover once the virus curve flattens.

On the other hand, container cargo processed at South Korea's seaports jumped 3.8 percent on-year to 2.47 million twenty-foot-equivalent units.

The growth was due to the government's allocation of special shipping schedules to American and Southeast Asian routes last year, inducing a recovery in demand from the Americas since September.