Logistics at ports slows down coffee shipments and generates losses

According to a survey by the Brazilian Coffee Exporters Council (Cecafé) with 27 associated companies, which represent 75% of total shipments abroad, the constant delays and changes in the scale of ships for export, in addition to frequent cargo rollovers, caused the country to accumulate 1,615 million 60 kg bags - 4.895 containers - of the product not shipped in 2024 until November.

Due to these logistics obstacles at Brazilian ports, coffee exporters suffered a “port loss” of R$11,930 million in November, which involves extra expenses with additional storage, detentions, pre-stacking and early gates.

With an average Free on Board (FOB) export price of US$ 290,66 per bag (green coffee) and the average dollar at R$ 5,8065 in November, the non-shipment of this coffee implies that Brazil failed to receive, in the first 11 months of 2024, US$ 469,53 million, or R$ 2,726 billion, as foreign exchange revenue.

According to Eduardo Heron, technical director of Cecafé, Brazilian coffee exporters continue to face intense logistical bottlenecks due to the increase in exports of several products that use containers to package their shipments and the lack of adequate infrastructure for containerized cargo in Brazilian ports.

"The obstacles in logistics and the losses accumulated by our exporters show that the main Brazilian ports for exporting coffee and other cargo that require containers have not kept up with the evolution of agribusiness in the country, and the lack of adequate port infrastructure is clear. The demand for larger yard and berth capacity, adequate highway, railway and waterway conditions to serve Brazilian agribusiness, as well as deepening the draft to receive larger vessels, are increasingly necessary in the country," he comments.

He reveals that Cecafé has been maintaining dialogues with the various links in foreign trade, involving public authorities and the private sector, with the aim of seeking solutions that mitigate risks, minimize losses to exporters and enable the rapid optimization of the port structure.

"The Brazilian port infrastructure has been showing signs of exhaustion and it is urgent to increase investments and adopt measures that aim to meet the growing demand of national agribusiness, providing greater efficiency and competitiveness to the sectors and enabling one of the main segments of the country's economy to continue generating billions in foreign currency," he points out.

Heron points out that Brazil is the country in the world that passes on the FOB price of coffee exports to its producers the most. “Therefore, the non-shipment of Brazilian coffee, due to port infrastructure limitations, reduces the amount passed on to coffee growers,” he adds.

Delays in November

According to the Zero Detention Bulletin (DTZ), prepared by the startup ElloX Digital, 66% of the ships, or 200 of a total of 304 container ships, had delays or changes in scales that impacted the result of coffee exports, in the main ports of Brazil, in November of last year.

The longest waiting time in the month before last was 68 days, recorded at the largest port in the Southern Hemisphere, in Santos (SP). In addition, 46 ships did not even have their gates opened at the Santos dock.

Heron points out that, despite the critical national port logistics scenario, Brazil has recorded successive records in exports of the product thanks to the efforts of the logistics teams of the associated exporters, who went out in search of alternatives to carry out the shipments, and to the contribution of the port terminals, which have been making efforts to meet the demands of the coffee export trade.

With 46,4 million bags exported in the accumulated period from 2024 until November, Brazil has already broken the annual shipment record, which was 44,7 million bags registered in the 12 months of 2020. In the first 11 months of 2024, there was also a growth of 24,6% in exports carried out by Santos and 53,2% by the port complex in Rio de Janeiro.

“However, this is due to the tireless work of our associates’ logistics teams, who have been seeking other ways to ship, such as break bulk, when coffee is shipped in big bags in the holds of ships, and to the support of the port terminals in Santos to consolidate the exported cargo. If Brazil had adequate port infrastructure, we could have exported more coffee, generating more foreign exchange and income for the country, in addition to avoiding losses for exporters with the volume of 1,615 million bags that remain stuck in the ports,” he analyzes.

According to data from the DTZ Bulletin, the Port of Santos, which accounts for 67,6% of coffee shipments in the first 11 months of 2024, recorded a rate of 78% of delays or changes in ship calls in November, which involved 125 of the total 160 vessels.

Last month, only 9% of boarding procedures took more than four days for ships to open the gate at the Santos pier. Another 46% took between three and four days and 44% took less than two days.

The port complex of Rio de Janeiro (RJ), the second largest exporter of coffee in Brazil, with a 28,2% share of shipments in 2024, had a delay rate of 61% in November, with the longest interval being 53 days between the first and last deadline. This percentage implies that 38 of the 62 vessels destined for shipments of the product had their ports of call changed.

Also in the penultimate month of last year, 13% of export procedures took more than four days for container ships to open their gates in Rio de Janeiro ports; 24% took between three and four days; and 63% took less than two days.

The technical director of Cecafé recalls that the entity and other agricultural institutions have been mobilizing together to raise awareness and demand measures from public authorities that increase investments and mitigate the scenario of logistical bottlenecks, which interfere with the performance of Brazil's export trade.

“We are pleased with the announcement of the auction for Tecon Santos 10 and the investments that will be made in the port, announced by the Port Authority of Santos (APS), as they aim to expand and improve the port’s capacity and infrastructure in its various aspects. However, aware of the various technical and bureaucratic challenges, there is still much to be done and we need to continue working together and collaboratively, through ongoing dialogue with all links in foreign trade and public authorities, to speed up the planning and execution processes, preparing the port to be even more competitive, meeting the demands of cargo and maritime transporters”, concludes Heron.