In October, the port of Riga handled almost 2 million tons of cargo, down by 1.4% MoM.
In ten months, the Port of Riga handled 17.26 million tons of cargo, almost a third part of the volume was various forestry cargo shipped from Riga to 22 countries around the world, most often to Great Britain, Sweden and the Netherlands. The direct maritime transport route to the US, launched at the beginning of the year, is also operating successfully, providing for the export of Latvian timber products from the Port of Riga to the United States.
Compared to the same period of 2020, October is more successful in both the liquid and general cargo segments – the volume of transshipped oil products has increased by 10%, + 9% compared to October 2020 for forestry cargo, +35% for peat cargo shipped through the port of Riga.
There is also an increase in both monthly and 10-month indicators of metal and ore cargo transshipment. During ten months, the volume of ore and metal cargo handled at the port of Riga increased by 19%.
Last month, a small increase was also registered in container cargo. October was the most successful month in this segment so far, importing and exporting more than 400 thousand tons of containerized cargo to the Port of Riga.
“This year, the containerized cargo segment is facing turmoil related to the long-term impact of the pandemic on production, transportation and cargo handling processes around the world, significantly increasing transportation costs, disrupting existing global logistics chains, creating container shortages,” commented the Freeport of Riga analysts.
The lowest volume of containers in the port of Riga was registered in the second quarter of this year, but now the situation is stable for the second month in a row.
The Port of Riga is the largest containerized cargo handling port in Latvia, providing for 97% of the Latvian container flow. This year, the port has handled a total of 3.5 million tons of containerized cargo.
Although a fall in grain product shipments was recorded in October, the total volume of grain cargo handling in 10 months exceeded 2.15 million tons, which was equivalent to the volume of 10 months of 2020.
According to the information provided by the port stevedoring companies, in ten months of 2021, 65% of all grain products were Latvian exports. A fifth part (19%) was delivered to the port from Russia, while 14% were consignments from Lithuanian grain growers.
Ansis Zeltins, the Freeport of Riga CEO, said: “The autumn of 2021 with stable situation in our main cargo groups – timber, grain and containerized general cargo – enables the Port of Riga and its entrepreneurs to expect the next year with some optimism. This is particularly important in order to be able to continue to fund and successfully develop the digital solutions that are so important for the future of the port, which is an absolute prerequisite for the sustainability of our industry and at the same time for achieving internationally agreed environmental objectives.”
According to the estimates of the think-tank CERTUS, each ton of cargo handled at the Freeport of Riga contributes to the gross domestic product (GDP) of Latvia in the amount of 10.7 EUR. (PortNews/Business World Magazine)
