EXPORTS THROUGH Dublin Port grew by 2.8 per cent last year to 11.5 million tonnes, Dublin Port Company revealed in its trade statistics for 2011 yesterday.
The increase in exports was offset by a 2 per cent drop in imports to 16.6 million tonnes which meant total throughput fell to 28.1 million tonnes.
“Trade levels at Dublin Port were steady in 2011 which is a robust performance given the large (6.1%) increase in the port’s volumes in the previous year,” said Eamonn O’Reilly, chief executive of Dublin Port Company.
Mr O’Reilly said the port company would shortly publish its “masterplan” for 2012-2040 which is “intended to ensure we continue to provide vital port capacity particularly as the economy returns to growth in coming years”.
Activity at the capital’s port has reflected trends in the wider economy; exports are now half a million tonnes higher than in 2007 but imports have dropped by 3.4 million tonnes in the same period.
The number of ferry passengers fell by 5.6 per cent to 1.7 million last year. Dublin Port Company said the 2010 figures “were boosted by the impact of weather and ash clouds” and that compared to 2009 passenger numbers have increased by 11.1 per cent.
The port is now the third busiest tourist transit point behind Dublin Airport and Cork Airport.
Cruise ship business saw a 7.5 per cent rise in passenger numbers. Last year 87 cruise ships docked at the port, bringing over 135,000 passengers and crew to Dublin. During 2011, Roll-on Roll-off truck freight volumes were broadly flat at 725,000 units, but Lift-on, Lift-Off container volumes fell by 5.1 per cent to 526,000 twenty-foot equivalent units (TEU) or containers.