Latvian Timber Product Export Opportunities Expand with Direct Shipment to the U.S.

Latvian timber product exports to the U.S. continue to grow. However, up until now, most of those shipments have typically been done in smaller quantities and in containers with transshipment in Rotterdam, or in one of the other major European container ports. Container cargo transshipment via other ports is undoubtedly much more expensive than sending cargo directly from Riga to the final destination, and as a result, there is a certain impact on the competitiveness of Latvian wood processing exports. That changed when the 200-meter-long bulk carrier “Kambos” left the Port of Riga sailing directly to the Port of Houston in the USA with 20,000 m3 of wood particle boards, which were made at the Latvian plant of the company “Kronospan.” In speaking about the first direct shipment from Riga to the U.S., Ēriks Cešeiko, Chairman of the Board of SIA “KS Terminal, said, “We hope that this first project, with a large consignment of wood industry products directly to the United States, will serve as a signal for Latvian timber producers and exporters to unite, consolidate large-scale freight, and deliver directly to the US market. This could be particularly relevant at a time when, as a result of the global crisis caused by the Covid-19 pandemic, containers in Europe are not available in the required quantities and are disproportionately expensive. At the port terminal, we can provide cargo reception, consolidation, storage, processing and other logistics processes for handling such cargo.”