Ceará EPZ reaches 50 million tons handled

In October, the Ceará Export Processing Zone (EPZ), a subsidiary of Complexo do Pecém, reached the historic mark of 50 million tons of cargo handled. The only EPZ currently operating in Brazil, the company started production in 2016.

In total, the Ceará EPZ has handled 51,017,144 tons and did not stop functioning even during the Covid-19 pandemic crisis. Last month alone, more than 1.02 million tons passed through the company, an increase of 7.96% compared to the 949,200 tons handled in September.

Throughout 2020, more than 9.4 million tons have already been handled by the Ceará EPZ. Of this total, the product handled the most was iron ore, with 3.57 million tons handled. Following iron ore were steel plates produced by Companhia Siderúrgica do Pecém (CSP), with 2.23 million tons handled, and mineral coal, with  1.70 million tons handled. Together, these items were fundamental to the record levels handled at the Ceará EPZ, which also houses the companies Phoenix do Pecém and White Martins.

Top destinations

With its logistics fully integrated with the Port of Pecém, which is located just six kilometers (km) away, the Ceará EPZ is able to quickly and efficiently send and receive goods from the main destinations in the world, including the United States, Europe, and the Middle East. In fact, the United States has been the major importer of products from Ceará’s EPZ in 2020 and has already imported 749,400 tons.

In addition to the United States, China is another major trading partner of the Ceará EPZ. The Asian country imported 444,100 tons of goods processed at the company between January and October this year. Canada is in third place and has imported 208,400 tons so far, followed by Belgium (167,700 tons), South Korea (140,400 tons), and Mexico (129,200 tons).

Expansion

To further expand its cargo handling, the Ceará EPZ began expansion works in June of this year. Called Sector 2, the new 137-hectare area will be located approximately four kilometers from the EPZ’s customs clearance area and will be focused on attracting small and medium-sized businesses.

Expected for the first half of 2021, the first module of the Ceará EPZ expansion will span 23 hectares and will require an investment of R$ 25 million. The area will be divided into lots of varying sizes and will have the same operational process as Sector 1.

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