Traffic in Spanish ports returns to pre-pandemic levels

STORY: Traffic in Spanish ports returns to pre-pandemic levels DATELINE: Feb. 21, 2023 LENGTH: 0:01:06 LOCATION: BARCELONA, Spain CATEGORY: ECONOMY SHOTLIST: 1. various of Spanish ports 2. SOUNDBITE (Catalan): LLUIS SALVADO, President of Port of Barcelona 3. various of Spanish ports STORYLINE: Activity in Spanish ports grew by some 3.5 percent last year, almost matching the record levels of traffic before the pandemic began. According to Spain's national port authority, Puertos del Estado, the country's 46 ports registered 563.3 million tons of goods traffic in 2022. This was just under the record of 564.5 million tons seen in 2019. Puertos del Estado reported that the Port of Algeciras in southern Spain saw its traffic increased to 108 million tons, a 3-percent hike compared to 2021, while the Port of Barcelona registered 70 million tons, a 6.9 percent increase year-on-year. It was a record recovery for Barcelona, which announced on Feb.14 a historic turnover of 181 million euros (193 million do