Imports diversify expedition firm choices

Romanian transport-expedition firms are seeking alternatives to the traditional ports (Rotterdam and Hamburg) in southern Europe, with a view to boosting trade with China.

“Commodities arriving in Romania come through Hamburg and Antwerp, since there are traditional relationships between these ports and Romanian expeditors. Research shows that though the ports of the south, such as Trieste, are closer in terms of location, transportation costs are higher when compared with other ports such as Hamburg and Rotterdam. Nevertheless, Trieste officials say they are working to develop the infrastructure and adjust tariffs,” Mihai Gardareanu, deputy general manager for CETA transportation, an expeditions company, told Ziarul Financiar.

German expedition firm Karl Heinz Dietrich is also considering Italy as an alternative.

“Dietrich, as any business, is trying to grow, and we plan to expand to Italy too. Although we have been present on the market for a long time, as a German firm we have not been active on the Italian market segment,” said Mircea Burciu, international traffic coordinator for the company.

“Today, competitiveness no longer depends on infrastructure or the area of the harbour, but on the ability to sort out and distribute commodities, especially due to intermodal terminals. The recipe for development is logistics. Many national and international terminals have benefited from this recipe and are not successful,” said Antonio Paoletti, chairman of the Chamber of Commerce in Trieste, during the workshop to promote the logistics platform Friuli Venezia Giulia of Trieste, which was attended by 120 harbour operators from 30 countries of Central and Eastern Europe and the Mediterranean.

He explained that the possibilities of Western Europe no longer meet all the demands of an enlarged EU, especially in view of the growth pace for volume and traffic that European harbours are experiencing.