Long Beach port officials approved plans Monday to offer cargo processing discounts and other incentives to keep business that might otherwise go to other West Coast ports — including the neighboring Port of Los Angeles which itself slashed fees last week.

Long Beach’s 10 percent reduction in port charges for terminal operators is expected to amount to between $4 and $6 savings per 20-foot cargo container, said port spokesman Art Wong.

“I believe that we have an obligation at this moment in history to demonstrate to our customers, partners and clients that we are actively engaged in the business of trade, that we understand the pressures they are under, and that we are responding as best we can,” James C. Hankla, president of the Long Beach Board of Harbor Commissioners, said in a statement.

The port also will offer shipping lines $20 to $40 rate reduction per container for increasing their non-local container volume beyond what they moved through the port last year. The new incentives could begin as early April 1 and last for one year.

Last week, Los Angeles port officials approved a discount program offering terminal operators a 10-percent reduction in port charges for each intermodal cargo container, which moves by rail to or from points outside of California. The plan, however, doesn’t include offering incentives for shipping lines that increase their volume at the port.