China’s major coastal ports recorded heavy volume falls in February against the backdrop of a deteriorating foreign trade performance. Exports plunged 25.7 per cent in the month compared with a year ago.

Shanghai, the world’s second-busiest container port, handled 1.5m teu in February and 1.9m teu in January, representing year-on-year declines of 19 per cent and 17 per cent, according to Shanghai International Port Group.

Shenzhen, the nation’s second-largest container port, recorded an even steeper fall in container business, falling by 21 per cent in the first two months of this year.

Shenzhen Chiwan Wharf Holdings, which operates nine of the city’s 34 container berths with an annual capacity of about 6m teu, said volume declines had worsened in February. The Shenzhen-listed company posted a 24 per cent downturn in throughput in January and a 40 per cent fall in February. It handled 682,000 teu in the first two months of 2009.

In a separate announcement, China’s biggest terminal operator predicted its first ever zero growth in container throughput in 2009 as demand peters out in the mainland’s key export markets. China Merchants (Holdings) International has a 34 per cent share of the mainland container market, which company chairman Fu Yuning said would remain at 129m teu this year.