Port of Cork Reports Growth
Ireland's Port of Cork’s container terminals at Tivoli and Ringaskiddy showed “exceptional growth” last year, recording a 13% increase on 2013 and handling in excess of 10m tonnes of cargo shows the annual results.
Total traffic through the Port of Cork and Bantry Bay Port Company in 2014 reached a total of 10.1 million tonnes. Following the transfer of Bantry Bay Harbour to the Port of Cork Company in January 2014, both Ports performed well in the circumstances with some sectors performing strongly while others experienced a decline due to a favorable harvest for Irish farmers in the summer and autumn of 2014 when compared to 2013.
Container volumes through both Tivoli and Ringaskiddy Container Terminals in the Port of Cork showed an exceptional growth of 13% compared to 2013 figures with over 190,000 TUEU's handled. This is very encouraging and the Port is confident that this level of growth can be maintained through 2015 and beyond with expectations that we will be at record numbers of container import and export.
Despite the excellent performance in the container business, overall traffic in both Ports experienced a drop of 4% in trade on 2013. This was primarily due to unseasonably fine weather in 2014 which saw a reduction of 22% in both animal feed and cereal imports and generally challenging market conditions which affected overall traffic. An improvement in financial performance is expected in 2015 over the same period.
Chairman John Mullins said: “We are very encouraged by the significantly increased container volumes in 2014 and I am confident that we can sustain this growth in 2015 while continuing to seek other opportunities for increasing trade through the port.”
“Consumer confidence is on the rise and we expect that this in turn will bring a surge in consumer goods imported during 2015. Our move to Ringaskiddy is vitally important to meet expected growth,” he added.
