Reports from the Brazilian port of Barcarena (in Para´ state) suggest that it handled 492,080 tonnes of soya from Mato Grosso between May and August. Recently opened, it now provides a major maritime outlet from the centre-North region of the country.
In the first eight months of this year, Mato Grosso exported 30.5mt (million tonnes) of soya beans, of which 7.09mt were handled by Santos. This was followed by Paranagua´ with 1.48mt and Vitoria with 1.3mt. Significantly, Manaus dispatched 851,700 tonnes. Mato Grosso also makes use of Sa~o Francisco do Sul (743,400 tonnes) Santarem (615,100 tonnes) and Sa~o Luis (423,200 tonnes).
The use of Barcarena for the first time has been prompted by the shorter distance trucks have to travel when compared to Santos, despite additional inland waterway costs and having to use dirt roads. However, this new port does not suffer from heavy congestion that those ports in the south and south-east do. Barcarena is therefore expected to increase the amount of soya that it handles in future.
BC