The Port of Barcelona boosts its activity with double growth in exports and imports

El Port de Barcelona continues to consolidate itself as a key economic driver, recording double-digit growth in its exports and imports during the first four months of 2025. This dynamism reflects the strength of the business community and the economy of its area of influence, despite a slight decline in total traffic.

Between January and April of this year, full export containers increased by 10,5%, while import containers experienced a significant increase of 16,6% compared to the same period in 2024. This boost is a clear indicator of the commercial activity transiting through the port infrastructure.

Total port traffic exceeded 22,5 million tonnes, although it was 1,3% below the previous year's figures. This is partly due to the 19,3% decrease in containers in transit, which impacted the general container traffic, leaving it at 1,2 million TEU (-5,2%).

The main markets with which the Port of Barcelona has strengthened its connections are China (+ 22,3%), United States (+ 3,9%), India (+ 31,3%), South Korea (+37,2%) and Saudi Arabia (+42,9%), demonstrating a diversification and expansion of its trade routes.

El bulk liquids sector The US also showed a solid performance, approaching 5 million tons. This growth was significantly driven by hydrocarbons, with gasoline up 90,6% and LNG up 63,2%. In contrast, bulk solids registered an 11% decline, despite a rebound in cereals and flours (+14,3%), due to falls in products such as soybeans, cement, clinker, potash, and common salt.

As to vehicle traffic, 228.778 units were counted, representing a 7,2% decrease, reflecting global economic and trade uncertainty. Intermodal Transport Units (ITUs) also showed a slight decrease of 1,2%, influenced by traffic with Italy and Morocco, although the connection with the Balearic Islands grew by 6,8%.

Finally, the Port of Barcelona welcomed 1,1 million passengers between January and April, of which 360.398 were ferry passengers. In the cruise sector, 753.134 movements were recorded, resulting in 466.621 people visiting the city. It is important to note that the Port and Barcelona Tourism Authority are working on a new calculation system to standardize cruise passenger numbers and provide more accurate data on their impact on the city.