Aprosoja Brasil signs agreement to enable transport through the Panama Canal

The Brazilian Association of Soy Producers (Aprosoja Brasil) signed this Monday (1/4) an agreement with the government of Panama to allow the exchange of market information and export potential of soy and corn through the channel. Expanding business and reducing the cost of using the channel in the medium and long term are some of the expected results.

The agreement was signed during the Panama Brazilian Day, an event that brought together commercial representatives from several Latin American countries and local government in the Panamanian capital.

According to the president of Aprosoja Brasil, Bartolomeu Braz Pereira, one of the objectives of the agreement is to share market information and potential production and export of Brazilian soybeans and corn through the Channel.

According to him, there are currently many ships operating with grain and this makes sea freight across the Atlantic cheaper, although this journey takes longer than through the Panama Canal towards Asia and the Middle East.

“The logistical cost of crossing the channel ended up becoming more expensive. If in the future the logistical cost across the Atlantic becomes equal to the cost of passing through Panama, ships will certainly follow this alternative route, arriving at their destination a few days earlier,” he stated.

The Brazilian delegation includes the executive director of Aprosoja Brasil, Fabrício Rosa, the coordinator of the Pro-Logistics Movement, Edeon Vaz, and the vice-president of Aprosoja MT, Lucas Beber and the president of Aprosoja Tocantins, Maurício Buffon, signatory of the document.

The delegation's objective was also to visit the new Panama Canal, built in 1914 and expanded in 2016, with new locks, to be able to receive larger vessels.

Panama Brazilian Day is a project of Investments and Commerce Brazil Panamá (CICPB), promoted by the Brazilian company GV Solutions Group.