Total port cargo throughput rose to 259 million tonnes in 2008, from 208 million tonnes in 2003, representing an average annual growth rate of 4.6%, the Census & Statistics Department says.

According to the latest issue of the HK Monthly Digest of Statistics, the average annual growth rate of transhipment cargo between 2003 and 2008 was 9.1% while that of direct shipment cargo was 0.4%. The share of transhipment cargo in total port cargo rose from 43.7% in 2003 to 54% in 2008.

Seaborne and river cargo went up by 1.5% and 16.7% in 2008 over a year earlier to 180 million tonnes and 79 million tonnes. Between 2003 and 2008, the average annual growth rate of river cargo (6.1%) was higher than that of the seaborne cargo (3.9%). The share of river cargo in total port cargo rose from 28.4% in 2003 to 30.6% in 2008.

Cargo movements

From 2003 to 2008 port cargo movements between Hong Kong and the Mainland recorded an average annual growth rate of 5.9%. They continued to account for the largest share of Hong Kong's port cargo throughput, being 40.8% in 2008.

This was followed by port cargo movements between Hong Kong and the US, which accounted for 6.7% of Hong Kong's port cargo throughput in 2008.

The port cargo movements between Hong Kong and the Pearl River Delta accounted for 30% of Hong Kong's port cargo throughput from 2003 to 2008. This reflected the close economic relations between Hong Kong and the Pearl River Delta.

In 2008, about 73.5% of port cargo movements between Hong Kong and the Mainland were taken up by the Pearl River Delta.

Analysed by commodity, the largest share of port cargo throughput in 2008 was taken up by "manufactured goods" (32.7%), followed by "crude materials, inedible, except fuels" (23.5%) and "chemicals and related products" (15.3%). Between 2003 and 2008, the three commodities had average annual growth rates of 0.9%, 11.2% and 3.6%.