Photo courtesy of the Port of Paranaguá/ Ivan Bueno.
It was the best July of all time, port officials said. The increase in productivity shows that agriculture in Parana is in good condition, and that the port is managing more customers, said José Richa Filho, secretary of state for Infrastructure and Logistics.
Soybeans accounted for the bulk of exported products at 1 million tonnes. This is almost three times the 375,245 tonnes shipped in July 2016.
Corn came in second at 358,000 tonnes, which is more than double the 177,000 tonnes shipped a year ago.
According the Organization of Cooperatives of Paraná (Ocepar), the export increases could be attributed to the large volume of soybeans produced in the first harvest and at the beginning of the second harvest.
"In the first and largest harvest, which occurs between the months of January and April, the main highlight is soy. The overproduction of the product, registered this year, led to a stocking of the warehouses,” said Flávio Turra, Ocepar’s technical manager. “With the beginning of the second harvest, the products that were stored had to be disposed of to give place to those that were collected.”
In addition to soybeans and corn, Paraná also harvests wheat between September and November. The state is expected to produce 42 million tonnes of soybeans, corn and wheat.
"After the historical export of soybeans, which we had in the first six months, this preliminary data from the second half indicates that this productivity should continue," said Port Administration of Paranaguá and Antonina (Appa) Chief Executive Officer, Luiz Henrique Dividino.
Dividino said the increase in exports could also be attributed to increased producer confidence in the capacity of the port, given its new infrastructure improvements.
“The harvest is now being distributed along the chain and, trusting that the port will export and serve the market, the producer ends up retaining the merchandise to export in times of high prices,” Dividino said.
In the last seven years, the Port of Paranaguá received R$620 million in investments for the modernization and expansion of its terrestrial and maritime structure.
"As a result, we have expanded the potential of the port, providing adequate outflow conditions for agriculture in Paraná and Brazil," Dividino said.
