Cargo Traffic Falls Almost 30%

HONG Kong's international airport said yesterday that it recorded a nearly 30 percent drop in cargo traffic in January compared to a year ago, with exports to North America and Europe showing big decreases.

Cargo traffic fell 28.9 percent in January to 231,000 tons, the Airport Authority Hong Kong said. All the airport's major markets suffered a double-digit decline in cargo traffic coming to or leaving from Hong Kong because of "continuously shrinking international trade caused by the global economic downturn," with exports to North America, Europe and China's Taiwan showing the biggest decreases.

Imports from Japan, Europe and Southeast Asia also dropped "significantly."