Without containers, Brazil loses USD 500 million in coffee and protein exports

The lack of containers for world exports was the theme of the Direto ao Ponto (Straight to the Point) program aired by Canal Rural on September 19th. The executive director of the Brazilian Coffee Exporters Council (Cecafé), Marcos Matos, described the impact of this situation on the coffee sector.

“We stopped exporting more than U$ 500 million, 3.5 million bags, in recent months,” he said.

The president of the Brazilian Association of Animal Protein (ABPA), Ricardo Santin, said that the poultry, pig, and egg sector did not stop exporting since they use the equipment constantly so there were no problems caused by the lack of containers. But he stressed that opportunities were indeed lost.

“We can’t say there is a shortage in general. We still need to be able to follow up on the opportunities that follow. [The sector] It continues to grow, but it is having some difficulties”.

According to the director of Cecafé, there was a repressed demand generated by the pandemic, which “caused an imbalance” in the dynamics of the use of containers. He also gave numbers of what Brazil represents in the world context.

“The country represents 1.3% of the global container cargo market, and for us, containers represent 7% in volume, but 42% in value, due to cargo with greater added value,” said Matos.

At the end of August, agribusiness entities and the Parliamentary Front for Agriculture (FPA) sent an official letter to the Ministry of Infrastructure asking for a meeting with minister Tarcísio Gomes de Freitas to debate the construction of a contingency plan.

According to the ministry, the federal government has discussed alternatives with the sector to minimize the problem, but it would not have the competence to act directly to reverse the shortage of units. “Since shipping is an activity carried out by private companies, the availability of containers is part of each company’s operational strategies,” the ministry said in a statement.

The president of ABPA highlighted the need for an action plan as a short-term measure. However, he recalled that longer-lasting measures must also be taken.

“Brazil needs to look to the future, strategically placing infrastructure. It is important for us to evolve. We need to think about it: build new ports, make concessions, invest money when necessary, look for opportunities,” he said.

Source: Canal Rural

To read the full original article, visit the link:

https://www.canalrural.com.br/programas/informacao/direto-ao-ponto/falta-de-conteineres-faz-brasil-deixar-de-exportar-us-500-mi-em-cafe-e-perder-oportunidades-em-proteinas/

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