This week, the port of Paranaguá (PR) will ship a batch of 6.18 thousand tons – or 247.2 thousand bags, of 25 kilos each – of cornmeal to the Port of Matadi, in the Democratic Republic of Congo. This is the second corn flour export operation made in this modality, known as “break bulk”, or general cargo, in which the shipment takes place directly in the hold of the ship.

According to the director-president of Portos do Paraná, Luiz Fernando Garcia, food products such as cornmeal are generally exported in containers by Paranaguá. “For this reason, it draws attention when boarding is carried out in this other mode. Last year, at the end of March, we made the first cornmeal shipment and, it seems, a new market was opened ”, he says in a note.

The company responsible for loading is Marcon. The cornmeal on board left Rio Verde (GO) and Apucarana (PR).

“The previous operation, in 2020, opened a market not only for cornmeal in the form of break bulk, but also for the shipment of other food products that are generally exported in containers, such as beans in bags, for example, about which we have already been consulted ”, Says, also in the note, Patrick Ferreira Tavares commercial director of the company. According to him, with the high prices of freight in containers for the shipment of these foods caused by the pandemic, some exporters have opted for direct shipment in the hold of the ship.

In addition to the cornmeal, the Sun Aquamarine vessel will also carry 22,800 tons of sugar, in 456,000 bags of 50 kilograms each. The product originates in the State of São Paulo and goes to the same African importer.

In 2020, Marcon exported 8 thousand containers loaded with beans through the port of Paranaguá. From Fubá, the company shipped 2.32 thousand units in 2020.

“We continue to export cornmeal and other food products, in bags, in containers. In the case of corn flour, it is a product that moves every month, all year round, ”says Tavares.

Source: Valor / Portos e Navios