The Port of Paranaguá ended March with the largest monthly movement ever recorded in the Export Corridor. 2.4 million tons of soybeans, in grain and bran, were shipped through the port of Paraná. The volume is 51% higher than the volume handled in the same month of 2019 and exceeds the previous record of 2.2 million tons, reached in June last year by more than 180 thousand tons.
According to Chief Executive Officer Ports of Paraná, Luiz Fernando Garcia, the positive result, even in the face of Covid-19’s adversities, shows the effectiveness of the security measures adopted since January by the public company. “Our concern for the health of port workers, truck drivers and crew is always first. We need to guarantee a safe environment so that they have confidence and maintain the services that are essential for the country ”.
According to him, the new record also proves the strength of agribusiness. “The harvest was very good and the exchange rate was favorable for exports. Ports around the world play an important role in food security and are part of a business chain that generates millions of jobs, in the field and in industry ”, he adds.
CORONAVÍRUS – The ports in Paraná were the first in Brazil to set up a complete structure for primary health care, on the quayside and in the truck sorting yard. Medical teams are open 24 hours a day, every day, with temperature measurements, guidelines and the proper referral of necessary cases.
The public company also purchased 20,000 liters of gel alcohol; 144 liters of antiseptic soap (used in hospital environments); 5,000 pairs of gloves; 10,000 extra units of surgical masks; 21 tents and elevated cabins; 200 linear meters of insulation grid, 32 showers, 60 sinks and foot washer with sodium hypochlorite.
SOYA – Soy exports were largely responsible for the historical performance. Nine private and two public terminals in the complex handled 2 million tons of grain and about 463.6 thousand tons of bran. The cargo filled, in the month, the holds of 40 ships.
The sector, which in the first two months of the year was apprehensive about the delay in planting, celebrates. According to Helder Catarino, representative of Interalli and one of the directors of the Association of Terminals of the Paranaguá Export Corridor (ATEXP), the lack of rain at the end of last year delayed the harvest for the end of February and the beginning of March.
“With the advance of the harvest in the last month, we had a more favorable scenario. Good offer, ports with static capacity, operational space to receive the strong harvest and a schedule of ships that ensured the exit and the turn of the goods ”, said Catarino.
In the first quarter, the Paranaguá Export Corridor handled 4.72 million tons of bulk. Of this total, 3.3 million soybeans, 1 million soybean meal and 297 thousand tons of corn. The volume handled in the first three months of 2020 is almost 12% higher than that registered in the same period of 2019.
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Expectations and exports to remain high in the coming months
The CEO of the public company Portos do Paraná, Luiz Fernando Garcia, estimates that exports will continue to increase in the coming months. The port sector considers current projections of demand for food and the good pace of the Brazilian harvest. For the next few months, 6.43 million tons of soybeans, already sold, are expected.
“The State Government adopted very firm measures to combat the new coronavirus and made it clear that roads and railways, in addition to essential transport activities, such as restaurants, tire shops and mechanics, must remain open”, comments Garcia.
The movement of trucks for unloading bulk cargo at the Port of Paranaguá is above average. In March alone, 55,835 passed through the public company’s screening yard. The number exceeds the historic mark registered in 2019 by 5,000 vehicles, with 50,900 trucks received.
On the page of the Department of Highways (www.der.pr.gov.br), drivers find a list of commercial establishments in operation around the main highways in Paraná.
Source: Portos do Paraná
