Somehow, the decrepit commercial port at Faro will end 2013 having exported 400,000 tons of cargo, its best performance this century as regional produce sails effortlessly into overseas markets.
The main export is from the Cimpor factory near Boliquieme where cement ends up in Algeria, North Africa and Cape Verde, but there is an increasing trade in stone, metalwork and tiles, mostly going to Gibraltar.
Agricultural produce exported includes the multi-purpose carob which is shipped to the UK, as is Olhão’s salt, and Algarve reared tuna from fish farms along the coast which is sent to Japan in huge refrigerated containers.
The cargo exported "contributes to Portugal's plan to kick start the domestic production of specialised products,” according to the port authority which adds that the “port of Faro is very important in a strategic regional context, by being central to an industrial belt connected to production, quarrying and manufacturing."
In 2012 the total exports just topped 300,000 tonnes of cargo, so this year’s 400,000 tonnes is an excellent effort with some outdated equipment and tired infrastructure.
The port of Faro has been useful over the years to the nearby airport as fuels can be brought in, mainly from Sines, and stored for aircraft but now the port is supporting regional production and exporting almost as fast as it can load the ships.
The port authority estimates that in 2014 the export figures will hit 500,000 tonnes and it is hoped, although nobody is holding their breath, that the promised multi-million euro investment to upgrade Faro’s dockland area, as promised by economy minister Pires de Lima, will start in 2014.
