The vessel Cemtex Sincerity, loaded with 72,000 tons of Brazilian soybeans, berths at the Laotangshan work zone on Aug 5. [Photo/zjol.com.cn]

The throughput of grain in the Zhoushan Port area saw a record high in the first seven months of this year, according to Ningbo-Zhoushan Port Zhoushan Port Affairs Co Ltd.

From January to July, the port area delivered more than 4.6 million metric tons of grain, a year-on-year increase of 27.55 percent.

Ningbo-Zhoushan Port is the first designated port to import grain in China, and the Laotangshan work zone owned by the port affairs company in Zhoushan has ramped up efforts to develop into an international grain transit and distribution center.

"More than 70 percent of the grain at the Ningbo-Zhoushan Port is delivered at the Laotangshan work zone," said an employee at the company.

In order to reduce the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, the company has sought to expand its operations from the lower reaches of the Yangtze River to Sichuan province and Chongqing and consolidate its cooperation with State-owned grain companies, including COFCO Corp and China Grain Reserves Group Co Ltd.

As a result, in June alone, the company delivered 1.01 million tons of grain, a year-on-year increase of 75.86 percent.