Neil Stephens of the Port of Brisbane writes:
As a major driver of economic activity in Queensland, Port of Brisbane enjoyed a strong year for trade in 2020/21, reaching a record 1.49 million TEUs and achieving 29.3 million tonnes of trade overall.
While we saw fluctuations across commodities due to ongoing COVID-related impacts, the Port’s diverse trade base continued to underpin its resilience.
It was very pleasing to see a resurgence of containerised and bulk grain exports through the Port after consecutive years of poor growing seasons due to the prolonged drought.
Bulk cereal and grain exports reached over one million tonnes for the first time in almost a decade. Trade will continue to grow to support Queensland’s expanding population; forecast to reach 4.8 million TEU’s by 2048.
Future growth is a key reason why we’re continuing to advocate at all levels of Government to directly connect Port of Brisbane to the Inland Rail project.
Currently, less than 2% of containers are transported to the Port by rail; globally, the average is 20-30%. We need a more sustainable modal balance.
