O Port of Santoson the coast of São Paulo, moved 10.9 million tons of cargo in February this year, 14.8% less than in February last year, when it had announced a historic record of 12.8 million tons.
According to a note from the Santos Port Authority (SPA), the drop occurred due to the reduction in export volumes of soybeans (10.6% lower compared to 2022) and sugar (24.3% lower than last year).
The drop in shipments from soyaccording to SPA, was influenced by the delay in harvesting, despite the record production estimated by National Supply Company (Conab)from 151.4 million tons for 2022/2023.
Sugar, on the other hand, showed a drop in foreign sales due to the lower internal availability of the sweetener, due to the lower crushing of sugarcane during the off-season and climate issues.
“Even so, the accumulated movement of the product in the year shows growth of 2.0%, with 2.1 million tons”, says the port authority.
Corn shipments, despite the drop observed in February, registered growth of 22.2% in the first two months of 2023, reaching 1.5 million tons.
Beef shipments, in turn, totaled 105.3 thousand tons (-23.3%) and were also harmed by the international reduction in prices and the decrease in export volume.
The handling of beef cargo in containers decreased by 13.3%, totaling 324.6 thousand TEU (unit equivalent to a 20-foot container). “One of the reasons for this drop in volume was the atypical case of Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (“mad cow” disease) communicated, on February 22, to the World Organization for Animal Health (WHOA)which led to the temporary suspension of meat exports to China,” said SPA.
Overall, total shipments amounted to 7.9 million tons in February, 13.3% less than in the same period last year.
Landings also recorded a drop of 18.8%, totaling 3 million tons. As for discharges, the performance verified in the fertilizers recorded a reduction of 28.7%.
Accumulated in the first two months of the year, cargo movement through the port reached 21.1 million tons (-10.3% compared to 2022), accounting for shipments of 14.7 million tons (-9.2%) and discharges by 6.4 million tons (-12.5%).
Container cargo totaled 677.5 thousand TEU (-10.7%). The flow of ships increased by 0.4% in the accumulated result for the year (791 vessels).
Source: Moneytimes
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