Volume of cargoes carried on Latvia’s railway declines 20%

In the first two months of 2016, the volume of cargoes carried on Latvia’s railway has reduced by 20%, as mentioned by the new head of LDz Edvins Berzins in an interview to Latvijas Radio.

«LDz’s results for the first two months are similar. We have noticed a 10% to 20% decline in cargoes. It is worth mentioning that cargo volume have declined in the entire region – in Lithuania, Estonia, as well as Russia and Kazakhstan,» – said Berzins. As a reason for that, he mentions the low value of Russian rouble and the decline of prices on coal and oil. It is also worth taking into account that Russia is currently engaged in the development of its own ports; most of the cargoes are carried through them now. «It is another objective reason as to why transit cargo volume to Latvia’s ports has been declining recently,» – said Berzins.

When mentioned that a decline of 20% is a major index, Berzins replied: «It is a lot, but those are just the first two months. Cargoes have a seasonal character. I expect that the flow of cargoes will become more stable as the year goes by and the decline will not be so high over all.»

Berzins admits that one of the steps to help stabilize the flow of cargoes is to increase the turnover of domestic cargoes, which formed only 2% of the total volume last year. The head of the company sees potential in this option and promises to work on it.

80% of all cargoes carried on Latvia’s railway come from Russia. LDz does, however, consider developing other destinations like Kazakhstan, China and Belarus.

BNN 

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