Commodities

Ranking of commodities on the East Coast of South America

Apr, 25, 2021 Posted by Ruth Hollard

Week 202118

In the first two months of the year, international container handling on the east coast of South America (ECSA) registered a 2% increase in exports and an 11% increase in imports compared to 2020. The import result is significant, as it represents the full recovery after the 2020 setback. Even more so because January 2020 was a strong month for imports that were not yet affected by the pandemic. February 2020 was also very little affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, which was still in its infancy.

Considering that container shipping freight has reached very high values ​​compared to normal past levels and that the dollar has not returned to pre-Covid levels, these results are impressive. Next week, the March numbers will be released, and it will be interesting to see if the growth trend has continued, especially in imports.

The total volume handled in January and February 2021 grew by 2% compared to the same period in 2020. The main segment continues to be the Food segment despite its not having increased in the period. Food continues to be the largest segment and makes up almost 27% of all exports. Twice as much food was handled as the second-largest export segment: Wood, Coal, and Derivatives.

The most significant gains were precisely in Wood, Coal, and Derivatives, which grew 13%, jumping from almost 70,000 TEU in the period to nearly 80,000 TEU. Cotton grew by almost 6000 TEU, increasing by 17%.

 

East Coast of South America Container Exports| Jan and Feb 2021/2020 | TEU

wdt_ID Rank Commodity Jan-Feb | 2020 Jan-Feb | 2021 % change
1 1 Foods 146,691 147,112 0%
2 2 Wood and coal and derivatives 69,949 79,161 13%
3 3 Paper And Cellulose 43,772 38,099 -13%
4 4 Cotton 30,191 35,351 17%
5 5 Drinks - Infusion 19,855 23,905 20%
6 6 Chemicals 19,318 20,150 4%
7 8 Metals and derivatives 22,613 19,048 -16%
8 9 Plastic and derivatives 27,082 17,583 -35%
9 7 Seeds and straws 13,754 13,588 -1%
10 10 Sugar and derivatives 12,566 13,103 4%
11 12 Textiles, derivatives and clothing 11,221 12,884 15%
12 11 Reactors and boilers 12,076 12,550 4%
13 14 Animal food 10,600 9,955 -6%
14 13 Smoke 6,723 9,720 45%
15 15 Ceramics 6,877 8,935 30%
16 Total 453,288 461,144 2%
17 Others 70,286 75,394 7%
18 Grand total 523,574 536,538 2%

Source: DataLiner (click here to request a demo).

 

The segment that decreased the most was Plastics and Derivatives, falling 35% from 27,082 to 17,583 TEU. Pulp and Paper also saw its export volumes drop from 43,772 to 38,099 TEU, a decrease of almost 5000 TEU.

ECSA imports recovered strongly in the first two months of 2021, growing 11% compared to the same two months in the previous year. The volume this year reached 601,927 TEU, compared to 543,921 TEUs last year.

The main category imported was Plastic and Derivatives, which reached 80,107 TEU, just over 13% of total imports. This category grew by 26% compared to the same period in 2020, or almost 17,000 TEU. Reactors and Boilers were the second-most imported category, growing by nearly 12,000 TEU in the period, from 57,942 TEU to 69,728 TEU.

East Coast South America Container Imports | Jan and Feb 2021/2020 | TEU

wdt_ID Rank Commodity Jan-Feb | 2020 Jan-Feb | 2021 % change
1 1 Plastic and derivatives 63,529 80,107 26%
2 2 Reactors and boilers 57,942 69,728 20%
3 3 Chemicals 54,178 58,046 7%
4 4 Vehicles and parts 54,283 57,507 6%
5 5 Electric machines 46,878 52,631 12%
6 6 Metals and derivatives 34,845 44,304 27%
7 7 Without classification 39,298 41,428 5%
8 8 Textiles, derivatives and clothing 39,613 38,722 -2%
9 9 Rubber and derivatives 20,959 24,297 16%
10 10 Foods 20,726 21,669 5%
11 11 Paper And Cellulose 17,317 17,007 -2%
12 12 Furniture 10,656 11,636 9%
13 13 Glass and derivatives 8,854 9,211 4%
14 14 Fertilizer 9,965 8,310 -17%
15 15 Fuel 5,192 7,797 50%
16 Total 484,235 542,400 12%
17 Others 59,686 59,527 -0%
18 Grand total 543,921 601,927 11%

Source: DataLiner (click here to request a demo).

Few relevant segments showed decreased container handling this year in imports. The most significant decrease was fertilizer, which fell from 9,965 TEU to 8,310 TEU, a drop of about 1,600 TEU.

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