The Brazilian port of Rio Grande set a new traffic record for the export of soya in 2014. This is the main export of the surrounding state of Rio Grande do Sul. Last year, more than 8.3 million tonnes of this commodity were dispatched by sea, which represents growth of 45,000 tonnes over the previous year and this was despite a slowdown in exports to China, which is the state's main customer.
Around 81% of export grain arrives by road, with 200,000 truckloads discharge during last year's harvest. To manage this major flow of trucks, the port has introduced a booking system for drivers, which has resulted in a reduction in queues.
For the whole of 2014, the port of Rio Grande handled 34,000,000 tonnes of cargo, of which 20,000,000 tonnes were in the form of grain.
BC