Cargo handling through the Port of Santos in March registered monthly and accumulated records. By reaching 12.74 million tons, the month surpassed the result of March 2019 by 12.1% and raised the year to 31.62 million tons, resulting in the best first quarter in history, 1.4% above the highest previous mark for the period, registered in 2018, and 3.9% increase over January to March 2019. The good performance was mainly due to the 14.6% growth in the monthly total of shipments, which totaled 9, 74 million tons. In the quarter, the 2.4% increase allowed the Port of Santos to reach 22.3 million tons shipped. The reverse flow also grew. Discharges grew 4.8% in the month and 7.5% in the quarter, reaching 3, million tons and 9.37 million tons, respectively. “With the warming in the maritime trade of various cargo, the Port of Santos showed agility in receiving and transporting goods and high operational productivity in the face of this demand”, highlighted Casemiro Tércio Carvalho, president of the Santos Port Authority (SPA), recalling that Santos today it has a service capacity for handling up to 162 million tons per year for a forecast of demand of around 136 million tons in 2020. The most significant cargo among those shipped also registered significant growth rates. In March, the soybean (grain and bran) complex, with almost 5 million tons handled, grew 16.1%, expanding the accumulated in the period to 8.92 million tons, up 1.2%. Sugar, with 1.42 million tonnes in the month, had an increase of 31%, increasing the quarterly total to 3.32 million tonnes, an increase of 14.9%. The performance in the soy complex shipments reflected the strong demand in the international markets, favored by the committed logistics in Argentina and by the devaluation of the real. The growth in sugar exports was influenced by the recent drop in oil prices, making ethanol less competitive compared to fossil fuels, making the option for sugar production in plants more profitable. Added to this is the exchange devaluation of the real against the dollar, favoring national exports of the commodity. In landings, cargoes with strong participation also had a significant growth. The 4.8% increase in the total unloaded in the month (3 million tons) increased the total landings in the quarter by 7.5% (9.37 million tons). Diesel / diesel reached 224.45 thousand tons in the month, an increase of 30.3%, bringing the total to 657.83 thousand tons in the quarter, up 23.2%. The fertilizer reached 195.99 thousand tons in the month, 27.7% higher than in March 2019 and expanding the quarterly total to 1.02 million tons, up 17.5%. The increase in imports of fertilizers (including sulfur) reflected, in particular, the picture regarding the terms of exchange between inputs and vegetable bulk favorable to producers. The Port of Santos increased its accumulated participation in the Brazilian commercial chain, registering 28.4% in the first quarter against 27.2% in the same period last year. China concentrated 27.8% of commercial transactions with foreign countries that passed through the Port of Santos, with US $ 7.39 billion, followed by the United States with US $ 3.36 billion and Germany with US $ 1.39 billion. The State of São Paulo led the participation in commercial transactions with the foreign market through the Port of Santos, reaching a 55.7% share.
Source: Portos e Navios