Cargo handling in the Szczecin and Świnoujście ports declined in the first half of the year by almost 20% YoY, from 8.96 to 7.29 million tons. The most significant decrease (65%) was recorded with respect to ore (from 550 to 190 thousand tons over a 6-month period) and wood handling (from 21 to 7.5 thousand tons).

"The falls are driven by the economic slowdown. Cargo handling reflect changes in the economic situation like a barometer", explains Wojciech Sobecki, the spokesperson of the Szczecin and Świnoujście Seaport Authority. "The effects of a decrease in the profitability of the export of Polish carbon, whose production is ever more expensive, are already being felt. Lower-scale ore handling is the effect of reduced demand for Polish steel and Mittal’s import of ore to its Polish plants from Ukraine by land", says Sobecki.

The only product whose handling increased considerably in the period January - June 2009 is grain (a rise from 524 to 867 tons). Handling companies operating in the port responded to that trend with new investments.

Four steel silos with the capacity of 16 thousand tons have been built by Andreas, which has been handling agri-food products in the Szczecin port since 1992. Silo construction has been the most significant investment project delivered by the company and a response to clients’ needs at the same time. The next stage of the investment to be carried out in the years 2009-2010 is extension of the SNOP II berth by 30 meters and increasing its depth to the technical level of 7 meters.

Bunge in Świnoujście

In May 2009 construction a grain terminal in the Świnoujście port began for an US-based company – Bunge, which is a global agri-food producer and the owner of Zakłady Tłuszczowe Kruszwica. A grain product handling base with the capacity of 45 thousand tons will be built within 18 months. The annual handling capacity of the base will exceed 500 thousand tons. The total value of the investment is estimated at over USD 20 million. Polish companies are also engaged in the project, including the UW Service – Prime Construction Consortium with its registered office in Szczecin, which acts as the general contractor. The investment is carried out by Polska Trade Service operating within the structure of the Bunge Group.

Ewa’s neighbor

Another investment project carried out in response to the growing scale of grain handling is soy pellet, rape and grain silo construction started in June in Nabrzeże Słowackie, with Ewa Sp. z o.o. being the investor. The investment, whose value is estimated at approx. PLN 20 million, is financed with own funds provided by the company’s major shareholder – a US company Glencore Polska. The storage capacity will be 40 thousand tons. A state-of-the art generation grab crane will be used for handling purposes. The warehouse will include three truck loading platforms. At present the construction site is being planned. The investment delivery is planned for June 2010.
“The previous year was particularly difficult for the silo project. Pellet import declined and exorbitant grain prices made export impossible. However, in the current year we have managed to export a lot of grain to Poland", says Danuta Niedźwiecka, Vice Chairman of the Management Board in charge of Operations. “In previous winters, during the period preceding the new harvest, prices were on the rise, which was not the case this year. I reckon this is going to be a permanent trend, which will allow to restore balance to the turnover in the years to come.”

The capacity of the Ewa silo currently operated by the company is 55 thousand tons and on an annual basis the quantity of grain and soy pellet handled approaches the level of approx. 750 thousand tons. Upon construction of a new storage facility next to the Ewa silo, the quantity may increase even up to a million tons.

mab