Arab News, Wednesday, Mar 15, 2023 | Sha'ban 23, 1444
Saudi ports record close to 8% growth in container traffic in February: Mawani
Saudi Arabia: Saudi Arabia’s
ports witnessed a 7.76 percent increase in container traffic in
February 2023, handling 622,837 twenty-foot equivalent units compared to the
same month a year earlier, according to the latest data released by the Saudi
Ports Authority, also known as Mawani.
Containerized cargo across the Kingdom’s trade
hubs maintained its upward swing, growing to 622,837 TEUs compared to 577,993
TEUs in the previous year.
The data revealed a 12.75 percent jump in exported
boxes at 194,157 TEUs, compared to 172,208 TEUs in 2022.
Imported containers stood at 193,937 TEUs, a 5.95
percent surge relative to last year’s 183,051 TEUs.
Transshipments also edged up by 5.39 percent to
193,937 TEUs against the previous year’s tally of 183,051 TEUs.
However, non-containerized cargo saw a 3.13
percent drop to 23,089,455 tons this year from 23,835,826 tons in
February 2022.
According to Mawani, dry bulk cargo increased by
2.9 percent to 3,879,366 tons in comparison to 3,770,196 tons previously while
liquid bulk cargo plummeted 13.16 percent to 11,772,089 tons from 13,556,831
tons in 2022.
Furthermore, Saudi ports received 883 vessels in
February, 4.87 percent higher than last year’s total of 842. With a 33.99
percent leap, vehicle throughput for the same period equaled 81,600 units versus
60,898 units last year.
Food volumes touched 1,646,900 tons, down 2.18
percent year-on-year from 1,683,595 tons whereas livestock imports hit the
337,231 mark, a 218.37 percent spike as opposed to last year.
Meanwhile, passenger traffic rose 61.16 percent to
100,903 as compared to 62,611 passengers during the same period in 2022.
“The national maritime regulator aims to
continually upgrade the throughput capacity of Saudi ports through bi-ticket
investments and high-impact partnerships in its bid to transform the Kingdom
into a global logistics hub of choice,” according to Mawani.