Freight traffic passing through the port of Liepaja (Latvia) in January-February 2011 increased by 8.5% compared to the same period last year, to 759,6 thousand tons, PortNews reports citing the Port Authority press service.
In the reporting period shipments of cereals declined by almost 32% to 191,800 tons, while petroleum products transshipment jumped by 29.3% to 96,700 tons. The volume of timber cargo shrank by nearly 25% to 119,200 tons. Handing of ferrous metals surged by 1.5 times from the last year’s period, to 128,100 tons, the volume of scrap metal soared by 3.47 times, to 51,500 tons.
In February, cargo throughput of the port amounted to 373,500 tons.
Port of Liepaja was founded in the 90s of last century at the former Soviet Union’s naval base. Today it ranks the third port in Latvia by freight traffic volumes. Half of the port’s cargo throughput is fueled by crude oil and bulk cargoes imported from the CIS countries, largely from Belorussia. In 2010, the port’s cargo volume totaled 4,38 million tons, on a par with last year’s figures.