ABSTRACT
Indo-China has only three ports with a total annual foreign trade of over 1,000,000 tons, though there are several of considerable local importance and many deep-water bays afford good anchorages. Saigon, Haiphong and Hon Gay, which handle 97 % by value of the country's foreign trade, serve as outlets for important agricultural, industrial, and mining regions. The other ports are small by comparison and, apart from simply constructed wharves or jetties, have few modern facilities for handling cargo. These secondary ports show variety in their physical setting, some such as Ben Thuy and Phan Rang lying on a river estuary, others like Tourane, Hone Cohe and Ba Ngoi lying on sheltered inlets. The backwardness of the ports in Annam and Cambodia may be attributed to the mountainous character and meagre economic development of their hinterlands.
