#BelfastLough - Recording record trade levels, Belfast Harbour reached 23.7 million tonnes passing through the port in 2017.

The port writes The Irish News, handles more than 70 per cent of the north's seaborne trade, has seen a 3 per cent increase in its trade volume on 2016 in spite of the low level of growth in the local economy.

Significant and strategic investments by the port and its customers as well as the relative weakness in sterling on exports are described as key reasons behind the positive figures.

Freight traffic on StenaLine’s Ro-Ro (Roll-on / Roll-off) services continues to grow, reaching a record 514,000 vehicles, with external demand for Northern Ireland’s agri-food produce a key driver for the increase. Linked to this, demand for animal feeds and grains rose by 11 per cent to 2.2 million tonnes.

To read more on other sectors of the port click here.