The movement of merchandise grew by 18% until June, also thanks to cereals, live cattle and citrus fruits
The arrival of more liquefied natural gas (LNG), oil and cereals has triggered cargo traffic in the Port of Cartagena during the first half of this year to record figures. He had not reached them for 17 years. The entry of large ships into the San Pedro and Escombreras docks accelerated so much in the first six months of 2022, among other reasons due to European demand, that the movement of goods grew by 18%. From January to June, 18.2 tons of merchandise arrived through the Cartagena facilities, the best result obtained since 2005, according to data provided yesterday by the Port Authority.
The good progress of the port is reflected in the data published a few days ago by Puertos del Estado, where Cartagena strengthens its position within the Spanish port system as the first in volume of imports and fourth in freight traffic, ahead of Tarragona, Bilbao, Huelva, Las Palmas, Castellón and Gijón.
The first semi-annual report for 2022 details that imports continue to lead port activity with 13.5 million tons. Liquid bulk stands out as the main protagonists of this growth. As a whole, oil, fuel oil and liquefied natural gas reached 14.3 million tons, which translates into an increase of 18.64% compared to the first half of 2021.
The data
-
14.3
million tons of crude oil, fuel oil and natural gas arrived until June, 18.64 more than in 2021 in the same period. -
1.5
million tons of cereals arrived from January to June.
Solid bulks were also on the rise. In this case, its imports increased by 16.85% (3.4 million tons moved) with the unloading in the port of Cartagena of about 1.5 million tons of grain that, during the first months of this year they came from Ukraine and, as a result of the war crisis in this country, they began to come from other alternative markets, such as the United States and Brazil.
The president of the Port Authority, Yolanda Muñoz, explained in a statement that “the results of these last few months show that we are on the right track, that the effort being made by the entire Port Authority team is bearing fruit.” All this, she added, “taking into account that we are still dragging the consequences of the health crisis.” Therefore, she reaffirmed her pride towards “all the professionals who accompany me on this path.”
Alliances with Algeria and Turkey
Clinker and cement also passed the semester with flying colors. In total, 100,000 tons more were imported than in 2021, thanks, above all, to the loyalty of traffic with different geographical points in Spain and Italy and to the new alliances with Algeria, but mainly with Turkey.
The docks are consolidated as the first in Spain in imports and the fourth in the arrival and departure of products
The export of live cattle also got on the rise. Until June it grew by 67.30% with the departure of 455,000 head of cattle. At the beginning of this year, the Port suspended the export agreements with Algeria, due to the high price of raw materials, something that was compensated with the export of cattle and sheep through other markets, such as those of Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Libya , Jordan and Lebanon.
The growth in the traffic of wind turbines, of 18.65%, and in the transport of merchandise in containers, of 15.57% also stand out in the report. Likewise, the entry of citrus fruits during this 2022 experienced a growth of 500%, with the arrival of 25,000 tons compared to the 4,200 received the previous year. They do it, mainly, from South Africa and Argentina.
The Port studies using the train to take more containers to the center of Spain
The Cartagena Port Authority is studying the possibility of using the railway line that connects the port of Escombreras and the center of Spain to transport containers and take hundreds of trucks off the road. The good results that are being obtained with the line opened in May to take clinker to Toledo, thanks to the special authorization that Adif granted to the La Mancha company Cementos El Tajo, has made the port authority consider this possibility.
This new way of moving goods is the result of the Port’s commitment to boost the activity of companies in the Region by offering Cartagena facilities “as a strategic tool to gain competitiveness, efficiency and sustainability,” said the port president, Yolanda, on Thursday. Munoz. And she added: “We have already visited more than thirty businesses, mainly agri-food, in order to establish partnerships for collaboration and growth.”
Recently it was the companies TMC and AMC Natural Drinks Group that chose the Port of Cartagena for the internationalization of their products. The first of them did so with the shipment of 2,500 tons of wood boards to Egypt and the second, with the transport of 3.6 million liters of squeezed tropical orange from Brazil.
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