Seaborne cargo refers to cargo transported by vessels operating beyond the river trade limits.
The river trade limits means the waters in the vicinity of Hong Kong which broadly include the Pearl River, Mirs Bay and Macau, and other inland waterways in Guangdong and Guangxi which are accessible from waters in the vicinity of Hong Kong. Seaborne exports amounted to 22.2 million tonnes, showing little change from 1998. Taking the two together, the total tonnage of river outward cargo recorded 22.9 million tonnes in 1999, virtually unchanged from 1998. The above port cargo statistics are summarised in Table 1 . Little change was recorded in seaborne inward cargo loaded in Taiwan.