Cargo turnover of the Baku International Sea Trade Port in 2021 increased by 14.6%, increasing by 5.6 million tonnes, according to the port’s press service. Azerbaijan’s Baku Port is an important Belt and Road Initiative hub as it handles significant volumes of freight travelling between Asia and Europe.
It is connected by Caspian shipping to Kazakhstan at Aqtau Port, where goods travel on by rail to Central Asia and China, to Turkmenistan’s Turkmenbashi Port, and on to markets in Uzbekistan, and via Iran’s Caspian Rasht Port to the INSTC network that heads south to the Persian Gulf, Middle East, East Africa and India. The connecting rail section transiting Iran is being upgraded and when completed will see further cargo volume increase along the INSTC to Baku.
From Baku, goods can travel west via Georgia and Turkey to the Black Sea and onto markets in Russia, Romania, and Bulgaria. The performance of Baku is therefore one indicator as to the trends in Asia-Europe trade.
According to the port, 2021 transshipment of dry cargo also grew – by 66%, while the transshipment of containers grew by 11.6% over 2020.
Baku Port stated that “The observed growth in cargo transportation expands Azerbaijan’s transit capabilities in this region, with the growth in container traffic an indicator of the integration of transport corridors passing through Azerbaijan into the international logistics network.”
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