Trucks are busy at Rugao Port in Nantong. [Photo/ntfabu.com]

Cargo throughput at Rugao Port in Nantong increased 23 percent year-on-year to 27.78 million tons during the first four months of this year, local media outlets reported.

Statistics from the Rugao transportation bureau show that the port's cargo throughput has maintained a growth rate of more than 15 percent year-on-year since October.

Rugao Port Group mainly focuses on the investment and management of public wharfs, bonded business, shipping and logistics, and cargo storage along the Rugao section of the Yangtze River.

The port, which boasts deep water and little silt, started its container business on Feb 26, 2014. From January to April, its container throughput increased 36 percent year-on-year to 164,000 twenty-foot equivalent units.

It mainly deals with bulk cargo such as mineral building materials and coal, most of which come from Northeast China and Fujian province.

For hazardous chemicals storage, the port has cut out the middlemen and directly communicates with upstream refineries and downstream buyers, said an official from the transportation authority.

"The domestic production market has completely recovered and even surpassed its level before the COVID-19 outbreak," said the official.

"We have had sufficient domestic trade recently, as downstream buyers increase their stocks and major refinery companies set up operations in coastal areas."