October 17 - A delegation of Port of Bilbao companies will give a presentation aimed at British shippers later this week in London.

The commercial visit, which includes business meetings with exporters, is being organised by UniportBilbao, the cluster association for the promotion and competitiveness improvement of the Port of Bilbao.

The aim of the presentation is to enhance commercial relationships with the United Kingdom. The Port of Bilbao has for decades maintained a large and close presence in trade activities between Spain and the United Kingdom. The Port nowadays offers at least one departure per day to the British Isles, which makes it the main Spanish commercial port between both countries.

Out of the 14.4 million tonnes exchanged between Spain and the United Kingdom in 2010, shipping accounts for 58 percent of the total. Of this, 2.7 million tonnes have passed through the Port of Bilbao, representing 19 percent of the trade between the United Kingdom and Spain and 33 percent of all the imports and exports by sea.

The United Kingdom also accounts for: 64 percent of the general cargo (containerised or conventional) generated between Bilbao and European countries on the Atlantic seaboard; 29 percent of the entire Bilbao international traffic of general cargo; and 8 percent of its total traffic (including liquid and solid bulk).