Qatar ports post strong y-o-y growth in general and bulk cargoes during 2023

Qatar's maritime sector saw strong growth in general and bulk cargo movement through Hamad, Doha and Al Ruwais ports in 2023, according to official data.
The positive yearly growth in the vital parameter corroborates the Qatar Financial Centre's purchasing managers' index that painted a rosy picture for the non-energy private sector amidst rising global interest rates and inflation.
The general cargo handled through three ports stood at 1.77mn freight tonnes during 2023, which registered a 10.63% surge year-on-year (y-o-y), according to Mwani Qatar.
Hamad Port – whose multi-use terminal is designed to serve the supply chains for the RORO (vehicles), grains and livestock –handled 1.3mn freight tonnes of break bulk and 400,478 freight tonnes of bulk during 2023.
The general and bulk cargo through the three ports was the highest in March 2023 when it was 297,009 freight tonnes and the lowest in June 2023 when it was 21,688 freight tonnes.
The three ports were seen handling 443,996 livestock heads during 2023, which zoomed 115.94% on a yearly basis. Hamad Port alone handled 9,301 livestock heads during the review period.
The livestock movement through three ports recorded the highest at 70,182 heads in April 2023 and the lowest at 5,468 heads in July 2023.
The building materials handled amounted to 528,428 tonnes during 2023, showing a 2.24% jump on an annualised basis.
The rebound of business activities, especially in the construction sector, corroborates the rising trends in the movement of building materials through the ports.
The building materials traffic witnessed the maximum of 62,456 tonnes in May 2023 and the lowest of 23,422 tonnes in November 2023.
The three ports were seen handling 81,036 vehicles (RORO) during 2023, which registered a 2.01% increase year-on-year. Hamad Port alone handled 80,294 units during 2023.
The Planning and Statistics Authority data reveals robust year-on-year growth in the registration of new vehicles for private use and private motorcycles, trailers and heavy equipment during majority of the months in 2023.
The RORO movement through three ports reached the maximum of 8,339 units in December 2023 and the lowest of 5,656 units in November 2023.
As many as 2,769 ships had called on Qatar's three ports during 2023, which showed fell 8.64% over 2022.
Hamad Port, whose strategic geographical location offers opportunities to create cargo movement towards the upper Gulf, supporting countries such as Kuwait and Iraq and south towards Oman, witnessed as many as 1,655 ships call during 2023.
Qatar Chamber's monthly reports by and large suggest the country's foreign trade and private sector’s exports have been showing promising results.
The maximum number of ships berthed was 266 in September 2023 and the lowest of 197 in June 2023.
The container handling through the three ports stood at 1.33mn TEUs (twenty-foot equivalent units) during 2023, registering a 7.64% contraction year-on-year. Hamad Port, which is the largest eco-friendly project in the region and internationally recognised as one of the largest green ports in the world, alone saw 1.32mn TEUs of containers handling during 2023.
The container movement recorded the maximum of 125,202 TEUs in November 2023 and the lowest of 95,317 in May 2023.