According to Russian Railways, the loading of export designated cargo destined for Russian sea ports made 306.5 mn tons during the full year of 2018 increasing 3.6% year-on-year.
46.6% of the entire volume is coal. Oil accounts for 26.1%, ferrous metals for 8.9%, fertilizers for 6.7%, and grains for 3.7% of the total.
Coal loading grew 3.6%, ferrous metals were up 8.3%, fertilizers up 2.1%, grains up 25.5%, paper up 11.7% and timber and logs up 15.6% year-on-year.
130.9 mn tons, 5.7% more than in January-October 2017, was designated for the North-West sea ports.
The South region ports accounted for 76.4 mn tons, up 0.6% year-on-year.
The cargo volume loaded for the ports of the Russian Far East made 99 mn tons, same as in 2017.
In December, export cargo loading designated for North-West sea ports increased 2.7% month-on-month making 11.6 mn tons, cargo loading for Southern ports was up 11.3% to 6.9 mn tons, and that for Far Eastern ports remained on the November level making 8.3 mn tons.