Cargo flows in near future will not return to pre-war volumes - Riga Freeport administrator

RIGA - This year with Russia's war in Ukraine demonstrated that the cargo flows, mot believably, will not return to the previous volumes in the near future, said Riga Freeport administrator Ansis Zeltins in an interview with LETA.

He said that 2022 was stable because, despite all geopolitical turbulences, the cargo volumes at the Riga port increased compared to 2021.

"Operations of ports have always been a reflection of the economy, thus, all changes in trade, transportation of goods also affect the Riga port. The last three years have been full of challenges for all sectors. If during the pandemic we discussed a possibility to return to business as usual, then 2022 with Russia's war in Ukraine demonstrated that the cargo flows, mot believably, will not return to the previous volumes in the near future," said Zeltins.

He said that in 2022 the port and its terminals faced huge challenges, including the necessity to find new cargos and new cargo markets, be flexible and adapt their infrastructure.

Coal cargos returned to Riga ports as European countries are looking for alternatives to Russian coal. This year required intense work of the Riga port terminals, looking for new cooperation partners and new solutions in logistics processes.

The flow of container cargo through the Riga port has also increased. 

The largest share of the cargos at the Riga port are forestry cargos, even though their volumes are lower than last year.

The Riga port is Latvia's largest port by cargo volumes.