Paraná-based ports see 17.2% cargo throughput increase in March

The monthly cargo throughput registered at the Paraná-based ports in March grew 17.2% compared to February, rising from 4,571,512 tonnes to 5,357,799 tonnes. The increase was primarily driven by the yields of the new soybean crop arriving at the port more intensely.

The increase has been gradual each month. For example, the volume handled in February was 8.6% greater than in January (4,207,256 tonnes). “The yields of the new soybean crop arrived in March this year, a little later than last year. However, we saw a significant increase in corn shipments, which we did not see in 2022,” says Gabriel Vieira, director of operations at port authority Portos do Paraná.

“By February 2022, a large portion of the new crop had already been harvested and sold. This year, we are only being able to ship in separate batches, depending on how much of the grains arrive, but, still, we are ready to meet all current and future market demand,” adds Vieira. Last year, the first-quarter monthly throughput was 4,157,538 tonnes in January, 5,075,117 in February (+22%), and 4,846,642 tonnes in March (-4.5%).

Segments – Solid bulk accounts for nearly 62.4% of the total monthly throughput at the ports of Paranaguá and Antonina. In March of this year, the segment corresponded to 3,341,475 tonnes of cargo among imports and exports. The volume was 22.8% greater than the 2,722,016 tonnes handled in February last year.

In terms of soybeans alone, nearly 1,204,720 tonnes were shipped, more than twice the 453,595 tonnes shipped in February last year. In March, 1,114,103 tonnes of general cargo were imported or exported, a 4.7% increase over February’s total of 1,063,852 tonnes. In March, there were 902,221 tonnes of liquids, 14.8% more than the 785,644 tonnes recorded in February.

1Q23 – In the first quarter of the year, from January to March, 14,109,999 tonnes were handled, including exports and imports. There were 8,778,706 tonnes of exports (62.2% of the total). Imports totaled 5,331,293 tons (37.8% of the total). The increase recorded in the quarter-to-quarter comparison was 0.2%.

“Despite more rainy days, we managed to move more charge in this first quarter than last year,” says the operations director of Portos do Paraná, recalling that rain prevents operations with solid bulk items, the main cargo segment handled at the port terminals based in Paraná.

March 2022 – In 2022,  14,079,296 tonnes were handled. Compared to March 2022, the increase was 11%. Last month, 5,357,799 tonnes were handled. In the same month the previous year, there were 4,846,642 tonnes.

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