Bulk cargo made up the majority of the cargo at 20.84 million tonnes, which is a 12% decrease from the previous year. 8.093 tons of general cargo was transferred in 2019, as well as 3.83 million tonnes of liquid bulk cargo. Coal made up 31.6% of the transferred cargo, followed by container cargo, timber products, petroleum products and chemical products.
“Long-term focus has mainly been on tons of cargo transferred at the port, however that's not the only factor that characterizes the port's operations,” said Port CEO Ansis Zeltiņš.
While he speaks positively about cargo diversification trends as a way to explain some of the decreases, Zeltiņš also points out that the port was forced to divert a portion of their cargo while the Krievu Island project was being completed and the terminals had to move from the right side of the Daugava river to the left.
Zeltiņš also said that the decrease in petroleum products will also continue, but the segment won't change much for Rīga. The majority of petroleum products flowing through the Rīga Port originate in Belarus, and that will continue.
“There's no basis for thinking that in terms of petroleum products something will significantly increase,” said the CEO.
He pointed out that there were, however, increases in some cargo sectors, including transferred timber products and grains. As a positive Zeltiņš mentioned that most of this cargo has a local origin. In terms of transshipment numbers the Freeport of Rīga is the largest port in Latvia.