China receives 91,8% of the soy exported through the Port of Paranaguá

China is the main destination for soybean cargo handled at the Port of Paranaguá, on the Coast, representing 91,8% of exports of the commodity. According to data from the federal government (Comex Stat), between January and March this year, 3.208.185 tons of soybeans left the port of Paraná headed for the Asian country. The number is 105% higher than that recorded in the same period last year (1.563.276 tons).

From 2023 to 2024, the Port of Paranaguá also went from third to second place in national movement of soybeans destined for the giant of the East (20%), behind only Santos (42,4%), representing an amount of US$6,7 .XNUMX billion in the FOB modality (in which the buyer assumes all risks and transportation costs).

“Even with the reduction in the harvest in Brazil, the ports in Paraná continue to move more efficiently and meet the great Chinese demand for this product. In the first quarter, we registered a record of historical overall movement, the majority of which went to Asia, which proves the excellence of the ports in the dynamics of operations”, highlighted the CEO of Portos do Paraná, Luiz Fernando Garcia.

In addition to the logistics strategy of the ports in Paraná, the smaller harvests recorded in other countries may have influenced the increase in soybean movement. In Argentina, there was a reduction in productivity in the 2022/2023 agricultural cycle.

“Argentina is the third largest soybean producer in the world, after Brazil and the United States, and this impacts the world market, supply, product availability and price. During this period, Brazil had a very interesting harvest, a record harvest in 2022/2023, of 150 million tons of soybeans, and occupied the space left by Argentina”, explained the economics specialist on the Board of Directors of Portos do Paraná ( Consad), Giovani Ferreira.

According to him, the Argentine harvest expectation for this year is around 50 million tons of soybeans, while the Brazilian harvest should be 146 million tons. “Brazil’s exports to China will continue to grow, but from now on, perhaps the factor will no longer necessarily be the drop in Argentina, but rather an organic growth in Chinese demand”, he added. Another reason is the strengthening of bilateral trade between Brazil and China in relation to negotiations between China and the United States.

The Secretary of State for Agriculture and Supply, Norberto Ortigara, highlighted that Paraná continues to be a major exporter of the raw material, from where the largest volume of the soybean complex exported by Paranaguá originates, but it is also making great strides in product diversification . The State is expected to produce 18,3 million tons on 5,77 million hectares in 2023/2024.

“Soy continues to be our main crop, occupying 29% of the arable land,” he said. "But at the same time that the State has contributed to meeting international demand, it works to add value to the product, transformed into feed, which guarantees the State national leadership in animal protein and good numbers in chicken exports, pigs and fish".

First quarter

Paraná's total exports totaled US$5,42 billion in the 1st quarter of the year, an increase of 4,7% compared to the same period last year (US$5,2 million). The State leads international movement among the states in the South region, surpassing Rio Grande do Sul, whose foreign sales totaled US$4,2 billion in the first three months of this year, and Santa Catarina, with exports of US$2,6 billion .

China recorded a 71,1% increase in purchases of goods produced in the State, accounting for a 26% share of Paraná's total exports between January and March. Sales to the Asian country rose from US$822,9 million to US$1,4 billion from one quarter to the next.