The Management Consortium that oversees activities at the Argentinian Port of Bahia Blanca recently announced its results for 2022. A total of 31.59 million tonnes was handled by the four harbours that are administered by the port authority, namely Ingeniero White, Puerto Galván, Coronel Rosales and BNPB. This was 9.4% up on the previous year (28.87mt [million tonnes]) and a new record for the port as a whole.
However, despite the rosy figures, much of the increase came from the area of liquid bulk, whereas Bahía Blanca’s core strength, that of export grain, had a mixed year. Overall grain exports, for example, were down 1.8%, dropping from 12.55mt to 12.32mt on the year. Corn, for example, performed badly, volumes dropping from 7.01mt to 6.65mt, a 5.1% decrease. Wheat also declined, by 1.3%, from 3.10mt to 3.06mt. In contrast, barley exports posted a record 1.17mt compared to the previous year’s 1.03mt, up 13.6%. Soya also did well, rising 1.8% from 1.40mt to 1.17mt.
There were 1,220 vessel movements and 62,785 rail wagon deliveries, while 316,810 HGVs used the port.
According to port president Federico Susbielles, it had been a pivotal year for the amount of cargo moved, works carried out, and administrative actions. A five-year plan, which includes both civil works and those linked to environmental upgrades, had also been set in motion.
Susbielles also stressed that the port is administratively healthy, and that 2023, in spite of the macroeconomic difficulties, will not be significantly affected because it has a diversified traffic portfolio. This is key because the ongoing drought in South America has negatively impacted the grain harvest and explains the downturn of this traffic in Bahía Blanca during 2022. He also expects barley exports to continue doing well in the current year.