In the first three months of 2025, the terminals operating in the Freeport of Ventspils handled a total of 2.38 million tons of cargo, which is 1.5% more than in the first quarter of 2024. The volume of transshipped oil products and cargo transported by ferries has increased, while the volume of coal has decreased the most.
Igors Udodovs, Deputy CEO of the Freeport of Ventspils: “The conditions in which the port terminals currently have to operate are very difficult. The possibility of attracting cargo is directly affected by geopolitical circumstances, sanctions, and economic instabilities in the markets. We are pleased that the terminals have managed to stabilize the condition and stem the decline. Simultaneously, we are working on moving towards the concept of an energy port with a strong emphasis on renewable energy resources in the broad sense of the word, along with servicing Latvian and Baltic exports and imports.”
The most immense volume of all cargo handled at the port in the first quarter was petroleum products (1.3 million tons), and this segment also saw the largest increase in cargo compared to last year – by 79%. After a period of economic recession, the Scandinavian market is gradually starting to stabilize, and it is also reflected in the results of the Latvia-Sweden ferry line – an increase of 22%.
The largest decline in cargo – by 213 thousand tons or 46.5% – was at the expense of coal cargo. Such a situation was predicted before when manganese ore was included in the European Union sanctions list, as the same wagons were used for both cargoes in opposing directions.
In the first quarter, the terminals working at the port of Ventspils also transshipped various wood (pellets, chips, timber) and agricultural (biodiesel, palm and sunflower oils, cereals, malt, rapeseed pellets, and bran pellets, peas, etc.) products, liquid chemicals, peat, and additional cargoes.
The Freeport of Ventspils is the second largest port in Latvia by the volume of cargo managed at the terminals and one of the largest industrial centers in Latvia. In 2024, Ventspils ranked third among Latvia’s largest cities in terms of production volume but was significantly ahead of other cities in terms of production and export volume per capita.