CHINA'S container throughput rose 12.6 per cent to 106.8 million TEU in the first eight months of 2011 year on year as trade continued to grow steadily, reports Shanghai Daily.

    Domestic ports handled dry bulk cargo of 770 million tonnes between January and August, an 11.2 per cent increase year on year, the Ministry of Transport said in a statement.

    The value of China's imports surged 30.2 per cent to a record high in August of US$155.6 billion, and exports rose 24.5 per cent to US$173.3 billion - both grew more strongly than in the previous month.

    Shanghai remained the country's busiest port, handling 61 million tons of cargo and 2.8 million TEU in August.

    Shanghai, which surpassed Singapore as the world's largest container port last year. Officials expect a 30 million TEU throughput by the end of the year.

    The Maritime Safety Administration has recently allowed river vessels that conform to national standards to sail directly to Shanghai's Yangshan deep-water port, a move that could help accelerate the transfer of cargo.

(source:www.schednet.com)