The growth was largely driven by an increase in crude oil and oil products, due to extra Dutch refining capacity, Nos television said.

‘Rotterdam is increasingly becoming a hub for world trade,’ port president Hans Smits told the broadcaster. ‘That helps the port to continue growing, because world trade is developing faster than the Dutch and European economies.’

For example, Russian fuel oil is shipped to Asia via Rotterdam.

While oil throughput was up, grain shipments and raw materials for animal feed were down, largely due to the poor harvests outside Europe, Smit said.