The first six months on the rivers in Serbia

There's a continuous rise in the overload of energy and resources used in implementing infrastructure projects, while grain exports are dropping.

Since the beginning of the year, the Port Governance Agency has noted 7.4 million tons of transhipped cargo, which is 2.7 percent more than in the same period last year.

The most commonly transhipped types of cargo are gravel, sand, and stone aggregates, making up 29 percent. Coal comes in second with 22 percent, followed by oil and oil products at 13 percent. Ores rank fourth with a 12 percent share.

When it comes to cargo quantities, the most significant increase in overload is seen in coal, with an 87 percent rise compared to the end of the second quarter of the previous year, due to increased imports of this energy source. Grain exports have experienced the most substantial decline, with 77.5 percent less compared to the same period in 2022.

In international passenger traffic, the Agency has recorded 592 port calls and 76,000 embarked and disembarked passengers until July 1st. Compared to the same period in the previous nautical season, there were 6.9 percent fewer port calls, but better cruise ship occupancy resulted in 27 percent more passengers.

At the international passenger terminal in Belgrade, there were 242 port calls, 161 in Novi Sad, and 113 in Donji Milanovac. Golubac recorded 68 port calls, four in Smederevo, and the first cruise ship was registered at the newly opened passenger terminal in Sremska Mitrovica. The most passengers disembarked in the capital - 31,660.

By the end of 2023, better results are expected than in the previous year, due to the overall half-year growth in cargo and the increase in grain prices in the international market, which will positively impact domestic exports.