SINGAPORE – Figures released yesterday by the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA) show the extent that the global recession has had on one of world’s biggest ports in terms of tonnages handled.

The MPA states that shipping container traffic at Singapore fell by 13.5 % in comparison to 2008, with 25.9 million Twenty-Foot Equivalent Units (TEUs) handled compared to 29.9 million TEUs last year.

In addition total cargo handled, which includes tanker and bulk commodities, fell from 515.3 million tonnes to 469.6 million tonnes, a reduction of 8.9 %.

The effect that the drop has had has reflected in the island nations’ economy, which contracted by 2.1 % in 2009