FedEx Corp last month pulled out of Taiwan’s port city and industrial centre Kaohsiung. It operated its last fl ight out of Kaohsiung International Airport on July 27 and has relocated staff to other cities, the China Times reported.

FedEx made the decision to quit Kaohsiung – Taiwan’s second-largest city after capital Taipei and the island’s industrial centre – because business has been declining every year in recent years. FedEx has been serving Kaohsiung for 12 years, operating fi ve weekly freighter fl ights to the airport. Compared with the peak days, FedEx’s business in Kaohsiung has fallen 30 percent.

The China Times report said that Taiwan’s economic competitiveness has been declining fast in recent years, in part due to the island’s fi ve-decade ban on direct sea and air trade with China. Taiwan’s business sector has been calling on the government to open air and sea links with China, but the government said the bans must be eased gradually for national security.