Bean exports at TCP grow 113%

A traditional food in cuisine from north to south of the country, beans produced in Brazil have been increasingly gaining ground in the international market. According to the Brazilian Institute of Beans and Pulses (Ibrafe), 217 thousand tons of the product were exported until September 2024.

At TCP, the company that manages the Paranaguá Container Terminal, bean exports have soared this year: 176 tons were exported up to September, which corresponds to approximately 81% of the volume shipped in the country. The cargo was transported in 7.208 TEUs (a measurement equivalent to a 20-foot container), resulting in a 113% growth in the Terminal's performance for the product compared to the same period in 2023.

“Since this is a perishable cargo, producers are looking for greater agility and operational efficiency so that their shipments arrive within the deadline established by importers. In this scenario, TCP stands out as the best option for shipping, as we have weekly stopovers to the four main destinations for purchasing Brazilian beans,” says Carolina Merkle Brown, TCP’s commercial manager for shipping companies.

The variety most shipped by TCP is black-eyed peas, accounting for 38% of exports, and whose main destination is India. Guatemala, Mexico and the Dominican Republic complete the list of the largest importers.

Paraná on the pulse export route and new opening of the Chinese market for Brazilian sesame

Exported exclusively in containers, due to the need to fumigate cargo to prevent the proliferation of fungi and weevils, the pulses market, as the dried legume seeds used in food are known, has been increasingly increasing the volume shipped through Paraná.

Giovanni Guidolim, TCP's commercial, logistics and service manager, explains that "the Terminal's partnership with the warehouses in the Paranaguá back area and the continuous alignment to optimize the flow with the intervening bodies involved in the export process are factors that make the shipment of pulses through Paranaguá more agile and profitable for producers”.

Commonly produced during the off-season in the Central-West region, sesame is also gaining space at the Paranaguá Container Terminal. Between January and September 2024, TCP recorded a 5% increase in the product's performance, with 6.387 TEUs shipped, a volume equivalent to 88 thousand tons and whose main destinations are India, Turkey, Guatemala and Saudi Arabia.

However, the recently announced opening of the Chinese market to Brazilian sesame, which took place during President Xi Jinping’s visit to Brazil for the G20 summit, could change this scenario in the short term. Carolina emphasizes that “the Asian continent is the main destination and origin of maritime services that serve TCP, representing eight of the 25 weekly calls available at the Terminal. This robust frequency guarantees efficient and reliable logistics, essential to meet the growing demand and strict deadlines required by Asian importers, which should further boost sesame shipments through Paranaguá.”

China is the world's largest sesame buyer. The Asian giant's share is equivalent to 36,2% of the global market, and accounted for $1,53 billion in imports in 2023.

Guidolim also comments that “TCP had already been working in advance with the warehouses in the Paranaguá back area with the expectation of receiving additional volumes of sesame in the near future, in view of the opening of the Chinese market for the export of Brazilian pulse”.

Coming mainly from the Central-West, Southeast and South regions, the pulses shipped by TCP arrive in Paranaguá via bulk trucks, which unload the cargo in the back-area warehouses to be later stuffed into containers.