RIYADH: Saudi ports handled less food in May as the Kingdom sees a slight improvement in container volume. All ports recorded a 1.38-percent yearly jump in the volume of container throughput in May with 600,107 twenty-foot equipment units being handled. Meanwhile, the number of ships increased by 3.03 percent to reach 1,020, and the number of vehicles increased by 42.33 percent to 81,737. These numbers strengthen Saudi imports and exports, along with catalyzing economic growth in the Kingdom, Mawani said in a press release. The percentage of food decreased by 6.50 percent, with a total of 1,825,579 tons. Saudi ports also saw the number of passengers increase by 16.38 percent, totaling 54,907 passengers. This comes alongside an increase of 181.64 percent in imported livestock, reaching 459,677 heads in May. TEU is a unit of measurement used to determine cargo capacity for container ships and terminals. The exported containers also increased by 2.57 percent during the same period to reach 175,958 TEUs, according to data released by Saudi Ports Authority, also known as Mawani. However, the imported containers slightly decreased by 0.64 percent to reach 176,978 TEUs. Mawani, which provides competitive services in productivity and operations, said it has helped raise the number of transshipment containers in Saudi ports to reach 247,172 TEUs, recording a 2.01 percent increase over the same month last year.