Trade flows passing through the port of Liepaja in January-July 2011 increased by 15.8% compared with the same period of last year, to 2.74 million tons, the Port Authority said.
In the reporting period, shipments of grain fell 10.7% to 625 300 tons, building materials volume more than doubled from last year, to 276 300 tons, handling of wood pellets surged by 3.3 times to 96 600 tons, transshipment of oil products increased by 20.5% to 307 000 tons, including 40 900 tons of diesel fuel (+6.8%), while timber cargo dropped by 24 6% to 428 300 tons. Transshipment of scrap metal rose by 2.34 times to 233 500 tons, handling of ferrous metals declined by 10% to 244 700 tons, of nonferrous metals - rose by 2.1 times to 69 500 tons.
Container traffic jumped by 2.44 times to 1 881 TEUs. Ro-Ro cargo soared by almost threefold, to 10 238 units.
The number of calls was up 10.3% to 851 vessels.
Cargo throughput of the port in July amounted to 379 500 tons.
Port of Liepaja was founded in the 90s of last century at the former Soviet Union’s naval base. Liepaja ranks third port of Latvia in terms of cargo volume. Crude oil and bulk cargo from the CIS countries account for half of the port’s total throughput. In 2010, Liepaja handled 4.38 million tons of cargo, on a par with 2009’s figures.