South Korean liner group, Panstar Enterprises, said that its express cargo volumes, covering South Korea, Japan and China, have seen exponential growth since it received its licence for international sea express customs clearance in July 2020.
The licence allows Panstar to expedite customs clearance for cargoes passing through the Korea Customs counter in Busan’s Yongdang district.
The Yongdang counter is South Korea’s third-largest customs clearance counter after Incheon and Pyeongtaek. This counter started off with temporary operations in July 2020, as online shopping increased substantially during the early stage of the Covid-19 pandemic. In September 2021, the counter became a permanent fixture, to facilitate speedy customs clearance for goods arriving via Busan.
Through synergies with its high-speed ro-ro cargo ferry services, monthly cargo volumes have risen from 860 parcels in July-December 2020 to over 28,000 parcels a month now, as the pandemic encourages more consumers to shop online.
Panstar Enterprises director Kim Bo-joong said that the company is now the market leader among carriers of express cargoes in Busan, with a market share of about 70%.
Mr Kim explained that with expedited customs clearance, goods can be delivered within four to five days of the order being placed, making the service comparable to air express delivery. In comparison, standard delivery through conventional sea freight takes more than 10 days.
He said: “We want to strengthen our express shipping service. If the Japanese customs regulations are relaxed and more express cargoes from China are processed through the Yongdang customs counter, our express cargo volumes in Busan will grow even faster in the future.”
