Major ports' cargo handling drops 11 pct

SEOUL, July 26 (Yonhap) -- South Korea's major ports handled about 11 percent
less cargo in the first half of this year compared to a year earlier due to the
global economic slump, a government report showed Sunday.
Busan and other major ports handled 509 million tons of cargo in the January-June
period, down 10.9 percent from the same period a year earlier, according to the
report by the maritime ministry.
Cargo traffic through Busan, the nation's largest port, declined 17.8 percent
on-year. Incheon and Gwangyang -- the nation's second- and third-largest ports --
also saw their cargo handling fall 13.6 percent and 17.2 percent, respectively,
according to the ministry.
The ministry attributed the first-half drop to the global economic recession that
dealt a blow to the country's exports and imports.
In the first half, South Korean exports declined 22.3 percent from a year
earlier, with imports falling 34.6 percent.
The ministry, however, said a downturn in major ports' cargo handling is quickly
easing on the back of government measures to stimulate the economy and stabilize
the financial market.
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