SindArroz-SC debates freight increase and container availability at the Port of Imbituba

A daily necessity for rice farming companies across the State, the ports are used to transport products produced from the North to the South of the country. With the aim of seeking improvements for businesses that benefit from the service offered at the Port of Imbituba, the Santa Catarina Rice Industries Union (SindArroz-SC) met with State authorities responsible for the full functioning of the port.

The main topic under discussion was the possible increase in freight charges, an issue that involves the shipping company, Aliança Navegação e Logística, the company that operates the container terminal at the Port of Imbituba, Santos Brasil, and the Port Authority. Furthermore, another debated point concerns the number of containers available for shipment, which currently does not meet users' needs.

As the president of SindArroz-SC, Walmir Rampinelli, assesses, the solution to both topics is of vital importance for the continuity of operations of Santa Catarina industries in the Port of Imbituba.

“The possible readjustment of freight prices and passing on this increase to companies that use the service is something that we still need to talk about and reach a common denominator. In the second case, we often have cargo, but there are no containers for transportation, which compromises supplies even from other states. Today's meeting was positive in the sense that we were able to start the next conversation, with the Alliance itself, to analyze these issues together”, says Rampinelli.

The meeting was attended by the Secretary of State for Ports, Airports and Railways, Beto Martins; the deputy secretary of the Secretary of State for Ports, Airports and Railways, Robison Coelho; the president of SCPAR Porto de Imbituba, Luís Antonio Braga Martins; the CFO of Santos Brasil, Daniel Doria; the legal director of Santos Brasil, Gabriel Moura; the president of the Criciúma Business Association (ACIC), Valcir José Zanette; ACIC Vice President Frank Hobold; the president of Copagro, Dionísio Bressan Lemos; the CEO of Ferrovia Tereza Cristina (FTC), Benony Schmitz Filho; and the director of the South Intermodal Terminal (TIS), Edilson Zanatta.