Korea's Incheon Port is rapidly emerging as a port for government stockpile imports due to a significant increase in imports of US edible soybeans.
Incheon Port Authority (IPA) announced that the Korea Agro-Fisheries & Food Trade Corporation (aT) designated Incheon Port as the exclusive port for receiving 10,000-ton container volumes through a bid announcement of the basis purchase in 2018.
The volume is a 66% increase from the 6,000 tons imported via Incheon Port that aT designated as the import port when it imported a basis purchase in 2017 and a spot purchase in 2016. The import volume increased five-fold from the 2,000 tons of US edible soybeans imported by the government as its stockpile in 2015.
The edible soybeans was able to be imported through Incheon Port thanks to the launch of a new route after the opening of the new port. According to the IPA, the import of edible soybeans for government stockpiling to Incheon Port started with 2,000 tons in 2015, and hit 6,000 tons this year. An additional 6,000 tons is expected to be imported next year.
Since 2015, the IPA has had in-depth discussions with quarantine authorities, dock operators and shipping companies, and aT in charge of import and export logistics of Korea's agricultural and fishery products, in order to lower logistics cost and contribute to stabilizing consumer prices by improving distribution channels for importers in the Seoul metropolitan area.
aT has been increasing import volumes via Incheon port little by little by paying attention to the fact that the trade volume with the North America through Incheon New Port has the benefit of not only reducing direct inland cargo transportation and logistics costs but also reducing the social cost indirectly, IPA explained.
According to the IPA, importing the cargos for the Seoul metropolitan area via Incheon Port saves importers’ transportation time compared to using other ports located in the southern part of the country, and reduces environmental and social overhead costs resulting from noises, pollution, congestions, accidents and damage to roads.