Goods are transported through the Port of Antwerp all the time. According to Carmen Wallays from Agristo, the production of chips is an important trade of Belgium and the Netherlands, resulting in large export figures. “We export many chips products outside of Europe,” she says. “We have a strong position because of the Port of Antwerp. We ship 6,000 containers in this sector every year, and in 2020 we even want to grow to 10,000 containers per year. If those 10,000 reefers are only brought to Antwerp via road and on lorries, it would mean 750,000 kilometres would be traversed by road every year.”
The growth of about 67 per cent envisioned by the Port of Antwerp over the next three years is a great prospect, although Carmen indicates an increased export also brings problems with it. “Logistically, the increase of the number of containers is quite a challenge,” she explains. “Especially the transport to the port from ‘traffic jam capital’ Antwerp is a major problem. That requires careful consideration, because we don’t want companies to divert to other ports in the Netherlands or France. Using intermodal transport is a good option, but quite a challenge for Flanders. In the Netherlands, they’ve been leaders in that field compared to Belgium for a while now.”
