The Freeport of Riga says it completed the first six months of 2018 with good growth. Cargo volume was up by 0.7% compared to the first half of 2017.
From a six-month perspective, rapid growth was observed in the general cargo segment with the last year’s cargo turnover exceeded by 21.9%. The number of containers handled by the port continued to grow: 225.6 thousand TEU containers were shipped through the Port of Riga, which is the highest six-month indicator in the history of the port.
Bulk cargo segment also showed growth of 5.2% compared to the last year. In the first half of the year, port terminals handled almost 7 million tons of coal, which is an increase of 8.8% compared to the last year. Grain and grain product volume handled in the first six months of this year was up by 67.3%. This growth was driven by favourable cargo trends in the segment, as well as active work of the port stevedores that helped attract new customers through investing in the grain storage and handling infrastructure.
Timber volume handled by the port increased rapidly. In the first six months, the port handled 2.5 million tons of various types of timber, which is 17% more than in the previous year. The large cargo volume is mainly explained by growing demand for timber in Scandinavian countries. Timber was the second largest cargo category in the Port of Riga falling behind coal only.
“Stable cargo turnover indicators clearly show the advantages of a multifunctional port: growing volume of bulk cargoes and general cargoes was able to compensate for the dropping volume of liquid cargo, especially oil products, at the Port of Riga,” Ansis Zeltiņš, CEO of the Freeport of Riga, explained.
The number of handled ships grew in the first half of the year. Port terminals handled 1,785 ships, which is an increase of 2.4% compared to the indicators in the first six months of the previous year. The Port of Riga also performed well in the passenger services segment in the first half of 2018. In the first six months of the year, 395.5 thousand passengers went through the port, which is 8.6% more than in the same period last year.