HONG KONG - HONG KONG'S air cargo traffic dropped almost 20 per cent year-on-year in April due to the global slowdown, the city's airport authority said on Sunday.

Hong Kong International Airport said in a statement it handled 257,000 tonnes of cargo in April, down 19.8 per cent from April 2008.

The contraction in cargo traffic was most prominent in exports, recording a 27 per cent year-on-year drop as cargo volumes to all major overseas markets experienced a decline.

Import also shrank 16 per cent year-on-year, with cargo volumes from Southeast Asia and Japan decreasing the most.

Cargo volume has seen a consistent drop of about 20 per cent over the last three months, after falling nearly 30 per cent in December and January.

'Cargo throughput remains the hardest hit in comparison to passenger volume and aircraft movements, reflecting the continued weakening of global trade and consumption,' airport authority chief executive Stanley Hui said.

Mr Hui added that the aviation industry worldwide had yet to show signs of recovery as the gloomy economic outlook and the outbreak of swine flu dampened travel demand.

Although mild 4.1 per cent growth in passenger traffic was seen in April, the authority said the rise was primarily a result of the Easter holidays falling in April this year instead of March as in 2008. -- AFP