Belgium: Volume of fruit rose at Port of Antwerp in 2011

The port of Antwerp handled 187,151,714 tonnes of freight last year. This represents an increase of 5% compared with 2010, when the volume was 178.2 million tonnes. These definitive figures exceed the provisional estimates made at the end of December: the records announced before the turn of the year have turned out to be even higher.

Never before has a larger container volume (both in TEU and in tonnage) been handled in Antwerp in the space of one year than in 2011. Expressed in terms of tonnage, the container volume was up by 2.5%, to 105,109,107 tonnes. In TEU the increase was 2.3%, to 8,664,243 TEU, a shade higher than the record level of 2008 (8,663,736 TEU). The volume of fruit rose by 2.9%.

The number of seagoing ships calling at the port also rose last year: in 2011 there were 15,240 calls, an increase of 3.1%. The gross tonnage likewise rose, by 9%, reaching 316,428,860 GT. The number of barge calls finished the year at 59,428, an increase of 4% compared with 2010. The volume of barge freight handled in 2011 was 87,133,204 tonnes.