Industry insiders warned that China's shipping industry would face a difficult situation within the year as a result of slump in import and export growth.

"It would be more difficult (for the sector) in the second half of the year than in the first half," said Chang Dechuan, chairman of the board of Qingdao Port (Group) Co., Ltd, on Saturday.

"Port and shipping enterprises need to be well prepared as the global economic downturn would mire the import and export in the next two to three years, and the situation is compounded by uncertainties in domestic economy," Chang made the comments while attending an enterprise forum in Changchun, capital of northeastern province of Jilin.

Profit growth for port enterprises has dwindled, judging from the performance of listed companies, while shipping enterprises have suffered great losses due to global over-capacity.

Shanghai-listed China Ocean Shipping (Group) Company (COSCO) witnessed a loss of 4.87 billion yuan ($773 million) in the first half of the year, and it projected a further loss for the first three quarters, mainly due to the global economic downturn and the slowdown in China's economic growth.

Zhang Yansheng, a foreign trade expert with the National Development and Reform Commission, told Xinhua that downward pressure on import and export might ease in the second half of the year, but that trend is not fundamental.

"Neither overseas demand nor domestic demand will improve significantly, and that trend could last for several years," Zhang said.

Zhang Liang, an analyst with GF Securities Co., Ltd., said profits of port enterprises in Q3 might drop from a year ago as a result of decreasing throughput and rising labor cost.