Latvia needs to regain its leadership position among the Baltic ports, said Minister of Economics Viktor Valainis at a meeting of the Council on Ports, Transit, and Logistics on Thursday, LETA reports.
He noted that the country has "lost" to the port of Klaipeda due to a lack of coordination and the absence of a consistent policy in the port sector. At the same time, the minister emphasized that in those areas where targeted policies are implemented, results are already visible — for example, in the cruise ship sector.
Valainis stressed that when developing ports, it is important to focus on industrial development, as such processes have already begun in the ports, indicating their reorientation. He cited the development of the Liepaja Special Economic Zone and Kundzinsala in the Riga port as examples. However, according to him, this is not reflected in the port statistics, as it is not directly related to cargo transshipment volumes.
The minister noted that industrialization is a direction for the development of ports, but it may reduce their revenues. In this regard, the Ministry of Transport needs to develop a strategy for sustainable port financing, as with the growth of high value-added goods production, revenues from ports, for example from navigation services, will decrease.
Prime Minister Evika Silina added that the government has already considered reallocating European Union fund resources to support port development. She also agreed that the development of ports should be assessed not only by cargo transshipment volumes but also by the volume of produced goods.
Andulis Zhidkov, State Secretary of the Ministry of Transport, reported that in recent years, cargo transshipment volumes in ports have been declining: if in 2021 it was 41.7 million tons, last year it was 34.3 million tons.
He also noted a decrease in railway freight volumes: last year they amounted to 9.5 million tons compared to 22 million tons in 2021.
It was previously reported that last year, 34.281 million tons of cargo were transshipped in Latvian ports, which is 4.8% less than in 2024. In turn, the volume of railway freight in 2025 decreased by 17.6% compared to 2024 and amounted to 9.454 million tons.
The Council on Ports, Transit, and Logistics of Latvia is a coordinating body in the field of ports and logistics, which includes the Prime Minister, sector ministers, port and city leaders, as well as representatives of public organizations and other state structures.
