JEDDAH: Shipping costs have increased 700 per cent as a result of the pandemic, according to the CEO of the Saudi National Industrialisation Co, Arab News reported.

Container plants in China stopped their production during the pandemic, which led to an increase in the container rental price from $800 to$1,200 to $7,500 to $8,500.

The long-term shipping contracts signed by the company, also known as Tasnee, mitigated the impact of the price hike, Mutlaq Al-Morished told Al Arabia.

He expects a gradual decline in freight rates, starting in the middle of 2022.

Al-Morished also set out plans to reduce Tasnee’s carbon footprint, which is equivalent to 0.7 per cent of the emissions produced in Saudi Arabia.

The CEO said his company, one of the largest manufacturers of car batteries in the Middle East, would cut its emissions by 30 per cent by adopting better recycling practices.

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