According to the Saudi Ports Authority’s report on Monday, imports during the period increased by 24.7 percent during the first quarter, while exports decreased 8.3 percent.

Jeddah Islamic Port was one of the biggest gainers, with a 16.7 percent increase in cargo handling. It took 10.2 million tons of cargo, containing mostly food and construction materials.

King Abdulaziz Port in Dammam was another big gainer among commercial ports in terms of volume, handling 5.38 million tons, an increase of 23.1 percent.

King Fahd Industrial Ports in Jubail and Yanbu handled 10.6 million and 5.9 million tons respectively, mostly petrochemicals and refined products.

Containers increased in units (TEU) increased by 14.3 percent. By the end of March, Saudi ports handled around 1.15 million TEU. Transshipment continued its growth with 369,735 TEU (a 19.10 percent increase). Jeddah is the main transshipment port.

Reacting to the first quarter results, head of Jeddah Islamic Port Capt. Saher Tahlawi said one of the reasons for better performance by the Jeddah port was the expansions that took place in January.

"We raised our capacity from 3.4 million TEU to 6 million TEU in January and provided more equipment for the handling of cargos," he told Arab News.

Besides, global economic upturn is also making its impact on the overall shipping business, he added.

Tahlawi expected an even better performance in the coming months as new facilities were expected to be added in the near future.