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TRADE
volumes from Asia to Europe and Asia to
the Mediterranean have been depressed for
well over a year now, and according to the
latest data the full year figure for 2012
was mostly likely down a few percentage
points from 2011.
If
so, this will be only the second time that
trade volumes have contracted on the two
trades since containerisation began over
half a century ago.
But
for the Spanish port of Barcelona, it saw
an increase in business in 2012 from a surprising
sourceˇXexports.
This
is not to say that Barcelona's volumes have
seen spectacular growth, but there is some
positive movement in the so-called backhaul
business, which is at least encouraging.
But
this growth in exports has not come without
hard work.
Barcelona
Port Authority commercial director, Rosa
Puig, told this publication that the increase
came from some innovative thinking on the
part of the country's entrepreneurs.
"The
entrepreneurs in Spain knew they had to
find a solution as the domestic consumption
market was not so healthy. So they decided
that they had to look outside of their own
local market and sell to the world. And
they have been really successful in getting
overseas orders for Spanish products,"
she said...
Containerised
exports from SpainˇXparticularly to Asia,
which is the largest market for the port
comprising around 25 per cent of total throughputˇXvary
from the usual low-value backhaul commodities
like scrap paper to high-value items such
as wine.
Ordinarily
the port of Barcelona boasts a healthy balance
between imports and exportsˇXa fact that
has attracted many shipping lines to its
berths over the years. However, in 2012
exports exceeded the import volumes.
Another
area of growth for Barcelona has been in
transhipment traffic, which Ms Puig believes
is only going to get bigger at the port
in the coming years. This is particularly
due to its strategic location that enables
it to not only serve the Spanish hinterland
but also into France as well.
While
it may seem odd to talk about trade growth
at this point in time, particularly at a
Europe-based Mediterranean port, the Barcelona
Port Authority knows that the current lull
won't last and that growth will commence
again.
And
when it does, Barcelona plans to be ready.
"We
are now in the middle of an expansion that
is the biggest in 600 years of history at
the port," Ms Puig said.
In
late September the port officially opened
its newest container terminal, the Barcelona
Europe South Terminal (BEST), which is owned
and operated by Hong Kong-based terminal
operator Hutchison Port Holdings (HPH) through
its TERCAT (Terminal Catalunya) unit.
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