In September, with the beginning of the active grain loading season, cargo turnover at the Port of Riga increased by 30% compared to the indicator of the previous month. The increase might be mostly attributed to the cereal products segment, but at the same time larger volumes of ore, coal, salt, general timber cargo, as well as oil products were transshipped in September.

Reaching a monthly turnover of 432.5 thousand tons, agricultural cargo was the port’s largest cargo group in September, having outperformed container cargo, which accounts for the largest volume of cargo in the port this year. Within a month, agricultural cargo was delivered to the Port of Riga by 43 vessels, including two large Panamax ships, each loading more than 50 thousand tons of grain on board.

According to nine months’ indicators, agricultural product cargoes are the third largest cargo segment in the Port of Riga – this year the volume of their transshipment has reached 2.24 million tons, which is 8.9% more than last year. Wheat was the most frequently transshipped agricultural product cargo at the port terminals, while the second largest type of cargo was rapeseed. Other types of seabound cargo include pulses and various types of fodder products.

This year the largest cargo group at the Port of Riga has been containerized cargo, which accounts for 26% of the port’s total cargo portfolio. Within the nine months of the current year, 3.64 million tons of containerized cargo were transshipped at the port, and the volume of containerized cargo has grown by 3.5% compared to last year. In September, 42 container liners entered the port, and for the fourth month in a row the volume of containerized cargo at the Port of Riga exceeded 400 thousand tons.

Timber – the second largest cargo segment – remains at a relatively low level in terms of transshipment volume, compared to previous years. In September, however, the total forestry cargo shipments increased slightly – by 7% compared to August. In general within the nine months of the current year the volume of transshipped timber cargo was 16.8% lower than last year. The decrease is still visible in all basic types of timber – pellets, wood chips and general timber cargoes (boards, saw logs, various wood products).

Assessing the results of the Port of Riga operation in September, some positive events should be highlighted. Two large vessels carrying ore entered the port, having delivered 114 thousand tons of manganese ore. The vessel loaded with 66.9 thousand tons of Kazakh coal left for the port of Plomin in Croatia – it has been the first Panamax class vessel this year. In September, the volume of transshipped oil products increased slightly, which was facilitated by the arrival of one large-tonnage tanker from New Orleans, USA, carrying 27 thousand tons of oil products.

In total, in the 9 months of 2023, 14.1 million tons of cargo were transshipped at the port. The mentioned amount is 18.5% less than it was last year. The main reason for the drop might be the decrease in the energy resources’ flow.