Soy and corn exports through Arco Norte ports grew 487,5% in 11 years

Soybean and corn exports through Arco Norte ports totaled 42,3 million tons in 2020, an increase of 487,5% compared to 2009, according to a study released this Monday (10/05) by the Confederation of Agriculture and Livestock of Brazil (CNA).

Between 2009 and 2020, grain production above the 16th Parallel, which encompasses the North and Northeast regions and part of the Central-West, grew by 92,6 million tons, which represents an increase of 165,3%. In the same period, Brazil recorded a variation of 119,4 million tons produced (+110,5%) and 89,3 million tons exported (+205,7%).

The vice-president of the CNA and president of the entity's National Infrastructure and Logistics Commission, Mário Borba, highlighted the importance of advancing infrastructure works to reduce transport costs in Brazil.

“The paving of BR-163, which runs from Mato Grosso to Pará, for example, allowed the reduction of grain transport costs by 26%, contributing to the sending of these products to the ports of Arco Norte”, he said.

According to the technical advisor of the National Logistics and Infrastructure Commission of the CNA, Elisangela Pereira Lopes, the growth in grain production in new agricultural frontiers was 8,4 million tons per year, while exports were 3,2 million tons per year.

“It is as if every year there is a need to implement a terminal with a capacity of 5 million tons to meet the performance of soybean and corn production, an increasingly record high in the states of Mato Grosso, Pará, Maranhão, Tocantins and Bahia. ", he said.

Elisangela explained that some initiatives, such as the paving of the BR-163 MT/PA, the dredging of the Tapajós River, the installation of Private Use Terminals and the expansion of grain terminals in the port of Itaqui, in Maranhão, and the ports of Belém , contributed to significant advances in the region.

“To continue meeting this evolution, the CNA defends interventions such as the implementation of the Ferrogrão railway, which will connect the port of Miritituba (PA) to the municipality of Sinop (MT), the Outeiro Port Terminal (PA) and the collapse of Pedral do Lourenço (PA), on the Tocantins River”, stated the technical advisor.

According to the Confederation's study, soybean and corn production below the 16th Parallel (South and Southeast regions and part of the Central-West) increased by 51,5%, a total of 26,8 million tons from 2009 to 2020. Shipments through ports in the South and Southeast regions increased by 149,7%, totaling 54,2 million tons.

“The growth in exports in these ports was the result of investments in expansion, modernization and equipment; new grain terminal leases; measures to improve operationalization (truck scheduling); dredging to increase depth of channels and access to piers and improvement of land access (roads and railways)”, highlighted the advisor.

Scene 2020 

Last year Brazil produced 227,4 million tons of soybeans and corn, with the regions above Parallel 16 responsible for 148,6 million tons or 65,3% of this total. Grain production below the 16th Parallel was 78,8 million tons (34,7%), according to CNA data.

Regarding exports, in 2020 the country shipped around 133 million tons of soybeans and corn. The ports in Arco Norte accounted for 31,9% or 42,3 million tons of this total and those in the South and Southeast region for 68,1% or 90,4 million tons.

The ports that shipped the most grains in 2020 were Santos with 42,2 million tons (31,8%), Paranaguá/Antonina with 22,5 million tons (16,9%) and Rio Grande with 12,1 million/ton (9,1%), in the South and Southeast regions. In Arco Norte they were the Belém/Guajará System with 13,7 million/ton (10,3%) and São Luís/Itaqui/PDM with 12,1 million/ton (9,1%).

Logistics map 

The CNA also launches this Monday (10/05) a map that depicts the logistics in the internal soybean and corn export corridors in 2020 and shows the infrastructure used to transport production via road, rail and waterway transport.

Furthermore, it presents and compares the movement of soybeans and corn in public ports and private terminals, highlighting the need for actions to expand the supply of port services in Brazil.

The map also contains infographics with information about the Brazilian transport matrix, the movement of products via railways, the use of rivers in cargo transport and the potential for expansion, as well as comparisons between Brazilian infrastructure and the main competitors abroad . “It is a true atlas of logistics in the agricultural sector”, highlighted Elisangela.

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