Russia's economy remains resilient

According to preliminary estimates, Russia's gross domestic product for 2020 will decline by 3.5 to 4.8 percent. The first two months of this year also show no significant signs of recovery. Positive developments can only be seen in some sub-sectors, reports Natalia Kapkaeva, Port of Hamburg Representative in St. Petersburg.

Cargo throughput in the seaports was not as severely affected by the Corona pandemic, with a decline of 2.3 percent (820.77 tonnes in 2020). The dry cargo sector even grew by 7.6 per cent to 404.73 million tonnes. Liquid cargo, on the other hand, dropped by 10.4 per cent to 416.05 million tonnes.

There is still no improvement in sight for this year. Cargo throughput at Russian seaports totalled 128.3 million tonnes from January to February 2021. This is 3.2 per cent less than in the same period last year, reports the Rosmorrechflot press service. The main losers by region are the seaports of the Arctic region and the Baltic Sea ports. Total throughput at the seaports in the Arctic region fell by 8.4 per cent and reached 96.03 million tonnes. This includes dry cargo at 30.15 million tonnes (-4.9 per cent) and liquid cargo at 65.88 million tonnes (-9.9 per cent). The Russian Baltic Sea ports handled 241.47 million tonnes, 5.8 per cent less. By segments, dry cargo increased by 2.4 percent, coming in at 112.81 million tonnes, and liquid cargo declined by 12.0 percent to 128.66 million tonnes. The ports in the Far East, on the other hand, all show some growth because there is a tendency for goods to be diverted to these ports.

Transport by rail also recorded negative figures in 2020. Consequently, freight volumes on the RZD rail network amounted to 1.243 billion tonnes. This is 2.7 percent less than in 2019. There are, however, positive developments in China-Europe traffic via Russian railways. From January to February 2021, 109,300 TEU were transported, which is 2.5 times more than in the same period last year. From January to February 2021, 109,300 TEU were transported, which is 2.5 times more than in the same period last year. The transport of loaded containers reached 101,200 TEU, an increase of 2.4 times. Transport on the route from China to Europe exceeded 71.6 thousand TEU (a 2.5-fold increase), and from Europe to China 37.7 thousand TEU (a 2.4-fold increase).