Arco Norte is a solution for the Brazilian logistics system, say experts

Paving works and opening of highways, resumption of investments in the railway network and new concessions in the transport infrastructure sector guarantee Brazil ample space for growth to be able to lower logistics costs, mainly favoring the expansion of Arco Norte.

This was confirmed by the director of the National Agricultural Society (SNA) and professor at the University of São Paulo (USP/Ribeirão Preto), Marcos Fava Neves.

When participating in a video conference on investments in port infrastructure, the expert highlighted that “Arco Norte is fundamental to the mission delegated to Brazil to supply part of the planet in the coming years, especially the countries in Africa and Asia, which are growing and demand more and more food products.”

Neves said that Brazil will have to add 10 to 15 million hectares in grain production to be able to meet this demand. “We can do this in a sustainable and competitive way.”

Challenge

For consultant Frederico Busssinger, who also participated in the webinar, “Arco Norte's challenge is not to implement logistics, but to make logistics more efficient”. According to him, the sector drives production growth.

“We will see this happen with Arco Norte. In 2019, production in that area reached 61 million tons of grain and 28 million tons were exported. In ten years, production grew 2,3 times, but exports rose 5,3 times. This means that the logistics did the job.”

TPA

Bussinger noted that, in this context, the project to implement the new Alcântara Port Terminal (TPA), in the north of Maranhão, meets the needs for improvement and innovation in infrastructure.

The TPA will have a double navigation channel, a draft depth of 25 meters, allowing access for the largest ships in the world, and connections with the Carajás railway and the North-South Railway. The shipping capacity for agriculture will be 40.000 tons per year, informed Paulo Salvador, executive director of Grão-Pará Multimodal.

The terminal will also enable savings of up to 30% on sea freight. Work will begin in 2022 and the TPA is expected to come into operation in 2024.

“It is a differentiated project, with competitive advantages, involving integrated multimodal planning and environmental licensing, social and corporate participation of quilombolas and support for the review of the master plan for the municipality of Alcântara”, highlighted Bussinger.

Storage

In terms of the logistical deficit, which increases in the country year after year, Arco Norte can be considered an exception to the rule, according to Thiago Guilherme Péra, coordinator of the Research and Extension Group in Agroindustrial Logistics (Esalq-Log). According to him, the region has received large investments, mainly from the private sector. “Logistics in Brazil is changing, and public-private partnerships bring greater competitiveness.”

Despite expectations, the expert said, during the videoconference, that “Arco Norte is one of the regions most lacking in terms of storage”.

In this context, he recalled that Brazil can only store, in terms of static capacity, 75% of its grain production, and that each year the country records a greater deficit in the sector because production has increased more than the storage infrastructure. ”.

Because of this, Péra added, “there is a greater need to move production faster, and this makes shipping more expensive and reduces competitiveness”.

Growth inducer

The Esalq-Log coordinator also reported that last year, the volume of exports through Arco Norte, which registered sharp growth from 2017, represented around 30% of Brazilian exports.

“The corridor is a great driver of the growth of agricultural production in border regions, which reduces logistical costs, leading to increased competitiveness. Furthermore, it brings a reduction in the saturation of traditional export routes, offering economies of scale in maritime transport”, concluded Péra.

Support

Also participating in the webinar, Gustavo Spadotti, supervisor at Embrapa Territorial, drew attention to the need for logistical support for the Port of Itaqui to transport production in the Matopiba region, which encompasses the states of Maranhão, Tocantins, Piauí and Bahia.

“Matopiba expanded quickly, has good prospects, but operations in the region cannot be concentrated in a single port, given the agricultural expansion that has been taking place there”, emphasized Spadotti.

He also said that one of the characteristics of the region is the balance between production and environmental preservation. “There are 35 million hectares destined for environmental preservation in rural properties in Matopiba, totaling R$406 billion in land assets destined for the environment”.