Riyadh, August 11, 2020, SPA -- The total tons of cargo handled in Saudi ports, supervised by the General Authority for Ports (MAWANI), during the first half of 2020 amounted to 149,000,000 tons, while the total number of exported and imported containers reached 3,400,000 , coming on board 5,959 ships. According to the statistical index issued by MAWANI, Saudi Arabia’s ports achieved an increase in the total number of transshipment, a total of 1,100,000 containers, marking an increase of 4.23%, compared to the same period of the previous year. Saudi Arabia’s ports also achieved a 17% increase in total foodstuffs, a total of 14,000,000 tons. This growth in Saudi Arabia’s ports performance during the first half of 2020 included the number of imported vehicles, marking an increase of 17%, by 395,000 vehicles, while the number of livestock reached 1.4 million heads. Since the outbreak of the novel Coronavirus, MAWANI has worked to implement a series of operational plans and precautionary measures in cooperation with various relevant government sectors, to ensure the quality and effectiveness of performance and business continuity around the clock, which contributed to providing supply chains and ensuring the abundance of food stocks. MAWANI seeks to contribute to stimulating the logistics industry, facilitating and supporting import and export operations in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, as part of its strategic plans and ambitious initiatives that aim to enhance the competitiveness of Saudi ports’ services and raise the performance of its maritime, operational and logistical operations. --SPA 14:25 LOCAL TIME 11:25 GMT 0006 www.spa.gov.sa/w1388788