The government said that cargo processed at South Korean seaports fell slightly from a year earlier in January on a slump in exports and imports.

The amount of cargo handled at seaports here came to some 120.85 million tons last month, down 2.6% from 124.02 million tonnes (mt) in the same month last year, according to the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries.

The trade ministry earlier said the country's overall exports inched down 0.4% on-year to USD 45.37 billion in January, with imports plunging 11% to USD 39.84 billion. Container cargo, on the other hand, gained 2.5% on-year to some 2.07 million twenty-foot-equivalent units (TEU), breaching the 2-million mark for the second time in the country's history, the maritime ministry said.

Import-export cargo, in terms of containers, rose 2.9% on-year to about 1.18 million TEU with transshipment cargo also growing 1.4% to some 863,000 TEU. Transshipment cargo refers to cargo processed here while en route to a final destination, often to change means of transportation.

By port, cargo processed at the country's largest seaport in Busan gained 2.9% on-year to about 1.56 million TEU, making it the world's sixth largest port. (Source: Trans Reporter)