Cargo traffic at the Latvian Free Port of Riga in January-August 2013 shrank by 5.7% compared with the same period last year, 23,350,400 tonnes, the Port Authority told PortNews.
In the reporting period, handling of transit coal fell 8.9% to 9,102,600 tonnes, oil product shipments dropped by 11.7% to 5.4 million tonnes, wood chips - by 8.3% to 628,900 tonnes. Eight month volume of grain exports plunged by 79.6%, to 96 million tonnes, shipment of chemicals rose 3.4% to 1,053,000 tonnes.
Container traffic gained 2% to 247,534 TEUs. Handling of Ro-Ro cargo increased by 4% to 402,800 tonnes.
Latvia-based Free Port of Riga lies on both banks of the River Daugava (Western Dvina), The port encompasses 6.348 hectares, including 13,818-meter dockside with berths of maximum depths of 16 meters, accessible for ships with draft of 12.2 m. Transit cargoes account for 80 percent of overall freight traffic moved to / from the CIS countries. In 2012, cargo throughput at the Port of Riga rose 5.8 percent year-over-year to more than 36 million tonnes.