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 the CEO of Ports of Paraná , Luiz Fernando Garcia, the positive result, despite the adversities of Covid-19, 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. 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 guaranteed the exit and the turning of the goods ”, untied 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.
Source: Portos e Navios / AEN