Busan Port Maritime Express Container Cargo Volume Increases by 58%

BPA and Busan City Jointly Provide Incentives to Promote Maritime Express Delivery

Busan Port Authority.

[Asia Economy Yeongnam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Hwang Du-yeol] Busan Port Authority (BPA) provided incentives on the 6th to revitalize maritime express delivery at Busan Port and diversify cargo volume.

The incentives were based on the performance from January to May 2022 for three express delivery companies using the Busan Port maritime express delivery center, with a total payment amount of 31.76 million KRW.

The incentives are jointly paid 50% each by BPA and Busan City.

The Busan Port maritime express delivery center is a dedicated customs clearance center for express cargo such as e-commerce goods transported by ship, officially opened at Yongdang Customs in September 2021.

BPA, Busan City, and Busan Main Customs Office signed a "Busan Port Maritime Express Delivery Logistics Revitalization Business Agreement" on January 27.

Generally, express cargo is cleared by customs clearance companies designated with express delivery centers and their own facilities among goods imported into Korea by express delivery companies.

While general cargo undergoes import declaration, inspection, appraisal, and quarantine procedures for customs clearance, express cargo can be released with only submission of customs clearance lists and X-ray inspection.

Domestic maritime express cargo volume has surged due to the spread of contactless consumption culture and increased demand for overseas direct purchases after COVID-19.

In 2021, it reached 34.94 million cases, more than three times the 11.33 million cases in 2019 before COVID-19. However, most maritime express cargo volume is handled at Incheon and Pyeongtaek Ports, with Busan Port's share being very minimal.

Based on the average monthly volume in 2021, Pyeongtaek Port handled 1.1 million cases (56%), Incheon Port 840,000 cases (43%), while Busan Port accounted for only 18,000 cases (0.9%).

Accordingly, BPA and Busan City decided to jointly provide an incentive of 80,000 KRW per 1 TEU to companies using the Busan Port maritime express delivery center to serve as a catalyst for revitalizing maritime express delivery.

Since announcing the incentive system in the first half of this year, the container volume of maritime express delivery at Busan Port as of May 2022 showed a growth rate of 58% compared to the previous year, indicating that the incentives played a significant role in revitalizing maritime express delivery.

Kang Jun-seok, BPA President, said, “We will make multifaceted efforts to increase maritime express cargo volume at Busan Port and help revitalize Busan’s e-commerce related industries.”

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.