The Greek port of Piraeus is poised to become the largest port in Europe in terms of container handling, surpassing the renowned port of Valencia. Piraeus has exhibited remarkable growth in the first four months of 2023, outperforming its competitors.
Between January and April 2023, container handling at berths I, II, and III of Piraeus reached an impressive 1.610 million containers. In April 2023 alone, container traffic from berths II and III experienced a significant increase of 24.5% compared to the same month in 2022, with a total of 369.2 thousand containers handled. This surge contributed to a 1.8% growth in container traffic from January to April 2023 compared to the corresponding period last year. In total, 1.420 million containers were handled in the first four months of this year, surpassing the 1.394 million handled in the same period in 2022. Additionally, at least 190,000 more containers were handled during the same period at Pier I.
While the outlook for Piraeus is positive, analysts remain cautious due to the challenging global economic landscape. Factors such as the ongoing conflict in Ukraine and rising global inflation continue to impact international trade.
In contrast to Piraeus’ success, the port of Valencia has experienced a decline in container handling during the first quarter of 2023. As the port ranking just above Piraeus on the list of largest ports in Europe, Valencia recorded a decrease of 11.94% in TEUs handled between January and April 2023 compared to the same period last year. However, rail traffic from the port of Valencia has shown positive growth, with a 15% increase in the receipt and shipment of containers in the first four months of this year.
China remains the primary trading partner for the Port of Valencia, followed closely by the United States. The port has observed notable increases in cargo traffic from countries such as Mexico, Egypt, India, and Senegal, contributing to its growth.
