In June, 62% of coffee export ships were delayed

According to the Detention Zero Bulletin (DTZ), prepared by ElloX Digital in partnership with the Brazilian Coffee Exporters Council (Cecafé), 254 ships scheduled for coffee shipments suffered delays or changes of call in the main Brazilian ports responsible for the product flow in June, a number that represented 62% of the 413 container ships handled last month. The longest period recorded, 42 days between the opening of the first and the last deadline, was recorded at the Port of Santos (SP).

An unprecedented survey carried out by Cecafé with 30 associated exporters, which represent 77% of total shipments, shows that Brazil stopped exporting, in June alone, 1,232 million bags of coffee (3.734 containers) due to ship delays, changes in deadlines, cargo movements and lack of space in port terminals.

These unconsolidated shipments of coffee last month prevented the entry of US$294,671 million (R$1,588 billion, considering the average dollar of R$5,39) into the country's commercial transactions and caused losses of R$4,7 million a year. these 30 companies, due to the high and unforeseen extra costs with additional storage, pre-stacking, detentions and early gates.

The survey carried out by Cecafé also found that, of the costs added to coffee shipments in June, 93% of these exporters reported extra payments with pre-stacking, 87% with detentions, 70% with additional storage and 20% with early gate.

Regarding the main problems encountered in last month's shipments, 87% of companies reported challenges with regular changes in berthing and deadlines, 67% with cargo shifting, 60% with gate opening, 30% with lack of windows and 23% with lack of containers.

Port of Santos

Santos, the largest port in South America, recorded performance indicators below those of May and the second worst since the beginning of the DTZ Bulletin. At the Santos terminal, the main point of departure for Brazilian coffee abroad, representing 69,1% in the first half of the year, the highest rate of delays for export ships was recorded, at 82%, involving 118 of the total of 144 vessels.

In June, 16% of boarding procedures took longer than four days for ships to open the gate at the Port of Santos. Another 58% had between three and four days and 25% had less than two days. Furthermore, 32 ships did not even have a gate opening last month.

Due to this scenario of regular changes in berthing and deadlines, cargo movements, gate openings, lack of windows and containers, the Port of Santos was responsible for 59% of the 1,232 million bags of coffee that Brazil stopped exporting in June , or around 725 thousand bags (2.198 containers), which made it impossible for US$ 173,5 million (R$ 934,8 million) in foreign currency to enter the country.

According to research carried out by Cecafé, 43% of exporters consulted declared that operations at the Santos docks worsened slightly in June; 23% reported having gotten much worse; 23% reported that the scenario was similar to the month of May; while another 7% of companies declared that they had not shipped coffee through Santos.

Ports of Rio de Janeiro

In the ports of Rio de Janeiro (RJ) and Itaguaí (RJ), the second largest shipper of coffee in Brazil, representing 27,9% in 2024, the rate of vessel delays was 51% in June, the which involved 40 of the 78 ships destined to ship the product.

Still in the aggregate of June 2024, 18% of export procedures had a deadline of more than four days of open gate by container ships in the ports of Rio de Janeiro; 36% recorded between three and four days; and 46% had less than two days.

Of the total volume left to export by the country in the month of June, the Rio Janeiro port complex accounted for 10%, failing to ship 122 thousand bags (around 371 containers), which resulted in less US$ 29,3 million (R $157,8 million) that no longer entered Brazil as foreign exchange revenue.

Of the companies that shipped coffee through the Port of Rio de Janeiro last month, 13% declared that operations had worsened a little; 7% reported having gotten much worse; 20% reported that the scenario was similar to May; and another 60% said they had not exported there. At the port of Itaguaí, 7% stated that operations had worsened a little; 3% who got much worse; 23% that the scenario was similar to the previous month; and another 67% said they would not board through Itaguaí.

Port of Vitória

The Port of Vitória is yet another that continues to face a worsening logistical bottleneck. According to the “Open Letter addressed to Public Authorities”, prepared and published by the Centro do Comércio de Café de Vitória (CCCV), which has been making great efforts to mitigate logistical risks in the Espírito Santo port complex, the situation at the State's pier has been worsening with the “formation of queues of ships, the scarcity of containers, the difficulty of controlling gates, the difficulty of customer service systems at port terminals and the lack of space for cargo movement”, resulting in lost shipments, transfer of cargo to other ports and adding high costs to coffee shipments.

In June, 33% of companies that shipped coffee through the Espírito Santo port declared that the situation had gotten much worse; 3% who got a little worse; 3% that the situation was similar to May; and another 60% said they would not board via the dock in the capital of ES, according to the survey carried out by Cecafé.

Faced with this worsening scenario, the Port of Vitória stopped exporting 374 thousand bags (around 1.134 containers) in June and corresponded to 30% of the coffees not shipped across the country last month. This result vetoed the entry of US$89,5 million (R$482,3 million) into Brazil's foreign exchange revenues.

According to Cecafé's technical director, Eduardo Heron, the continuity and increase in the number of ships with delays and changes to deadlines reflects infrastructure limitations and the lack of physical spaces in ports that ship Brazilian coffee.

He warns that, even though it maintains leadership in shipments of the product abroad, the representation of the Port of Santos has been falling since 2022, when it held 80% of shipments, having dropped to 69% in the first half of 2024, the lowest rate observed in the last 15 years. Also from January to June this year, the Rio de Janeiro port complex increased its participation from 15% to 28% in the country's coffee shipments.

“The logistical obstacles and the physical limitation of capacity in the various ports that ship Brazilian coffee are notorious, with Santos presenting inferior and aggravating indicators for concentrating the largest volume of cargo and, also, for representing a greater share in the flow of the coffee harvest”, comments Heron.

According to him, Brazil has been exporting around 4,1 million bags (12.424 containers) monthly since October 2023, including in the off-season, with the exception of the months of February, which is shorter and includes the Carnival holiday, and June. “The country has maintained a significant volume of shipments since October and the logistical problems encountered in coffee exports during this period revealed the inability of the Port of Santos to absorb this growth, due to the lack of physical space in the terminals for containerized cargo, causing the product was shipped through the ports of Rio”, he explains.

“The coffee loads – adds Heron – come from the interior of Minas Gerais, São Paulo and Espírito Santo, for example, with the expectation of leaving through Santos, but they arrive at the terminals and are prevented from entering because the yards are full. Thus, the exporter, who now has high additional costs, with extra storage, pre-stacking and detentions, seeks alternatives to reduce the financial impact, trying to consolidate their shipments through other ports”, he reveals.

Faced with this challenging scenario, the director of Cecafé points out that it is urgent to promote debate with the various links in Brazilian foreign trade, analyze the current impacts and losses to exporters and seek solutions that mitigate logistical risks and avoid the addition of high expenses and no provided for in shipments.

“The expansion of physical capacity for containerized cargo at port terminals, the deepening of the draft for large vessels, investments and incentives for diversification of modes for faster cargo turnover at the port can, without a doubt, contribute to reducing these logistical bottlenecks and losses to Brazilian foreign trade sectors. For the second half of the year, the outlook is very pessimistic given the lack of port capacity for container cargo and the expectation of an increase in volumes of coffee, cotton and sugar shipments”, he projects.

In an attempt to improve the context of logistical bottlenecks, he states that greater sensitivity is needed on the part of public authorities in the face of losses caused to exporters, with the addition of high expenses and revenues that do not enter the companies' cash flow due to non-compliance. boarding, suggesting that the original STS10 project, in the Port of Santos, for example, be rescued and move forward, urgently to avoid even greater collapse.

“If nothing is done, the current scenario will only get worse and there will be no producer and exporter efficiency that will ensure that Brazil continues to reach significant levels in exports and foreign exchange revenue, such as the record volume of 47,3 million bags, and value of US$9,8 billion, obtained from coffee shipments in the recently concluded 2023/24 harvest. Furthermore, the current situation highlights the collapse of the national port system for container cargo, diverging from what the Law defines as adequate service”, concludes Heron.