Rising farming goods trade push Brazil’s Maranhão ports to the limit

With an initially projected throughput of around 5 million tonnes of grains per year, the Tegram terminal, inaugurated in 2015, quickly proved too small for the astonishing growth of Brazil’s farming goods trade over the past decade, which surprised the port operators themselves. This rapid growth led to the terminal’s first expansion, doubling its capacity to 10 million tonnes, which was also quickly exceeded.

By the end of 2023, the Maranhão Grain Terminal had shipped 15.4 million tonnes—over 50% more than its originally planned capacity.

A study conducted by Agência Safras & Mercado commissioned by the Tegram-Itaqui Consortium provided an outlook on the production of soybeans, soybean meal, corn, and sorghum through the 2032-33 crop year. The study projected growth in both volume and acreage across Brazil, particularly in the area served by the port, which includes the Mapito region (Maranhão, Piauí, and Tocantins) as well as the northeastern part of Mato Grosso.

For the crops exported through Northern Arc ports, the study estimated increases in both volume and planted area from the 2023-24 crop year to the 2032-33 crop year:

• Soybean production in Mapito and northeastern Mato Grosso is expected to rise from 21.9 million tonnes to 29.9 million tonnes, an increase of 36.1%. Corn output in this area is projected to grow by 34.5%, from 13.2 million to 17.8 million tonnes.
• Soybean meal production is anticipated to grow by 9.1%, from 1.8 million to 1.9 million tonnes.
• Nationally, soybean production is forecasted to increase by 19.1%, from 163.2 million to 194.5 million tonnes; corn by 14.3%, from 137.4 million to 157 million tonnes; and soybean meal by 5.6%, from 40.5 million to 42.7 million tonnes.

Regarding acreage, the study projected a 36% expansion in Mapito and NE-MT alone, from the current 6 million hectares to 8.2 million hectares. Nationally, the planted area is expected to increase by 16.8%, from 45.6 million hectares to 53.3 million hectares. For corn, the planted area in Mapito is projected to expand by 24%, from 2.3 million hectares to 2.8 million hectares, and by 8.1% in the rest of Brazil, from 22 million hectares to 23.8 million hectares.

Confirming the strength of Brazil’s agribusiness and the North Arc region, the study points out the need for a more extensive infrastructure to support production growth. Encouraged by these promising figures and projections, the consortium that operates the Maranhão terminal (comprising TCN, Viterra, CLI, and ALZ Grãos) has submitted a request for early renewal of its port concession contract, which is set to expire in 2037, with the goal of extending it to 2062.

Marcos Pepe Bertoni, president of Tegram and director of operations at CLI (Corredor de Logística e Infraestrutura), which operates the terminal, stated that the terminal’s expansion will require an investment of R$ 1.6 billion. This investment will be used to construct a third ship berth, four new storage units, and a new grain loading line for the berth.

“This Phase 3 will further solidify the Port of Itaqui as the largest grain export complex in Brazil’s Northern Arc, adding the capacity to handle an additional 8.5 million tonnes of grain per year,” said Bertoni. The catalyst for this expansion was reached at the end of last year when the terminal hit its operational capacity, breaking a record by exporting over 15 million tonnes of grain throughout the year.

Moving forward with the project, the port’s capacity will increase to more than 24 million tonnes of grain per year, and storage capacity will rise from 500,000 tonnes to 860,000 tonnes. “Instead of building warehouses, as we do now, we’ll construct silo units, which will offer greater flexibility in handling the products shipped,” Bertoni explained.

Currently, the Port of Itaqui primarily exports soybeans, corn, and a relatively small percentage of soybean meal. According to Bertoni, during the new installation phase, the new silos will store corn, soybeans, and sorghum, and the two existing warehouses will be used to store soybean meal. “In the past, crops were divided between soybeans and corn. Now, we have soybeans and corn from January to October. The idea is to use the silos to better manage these grains throughout the year,” he added.

In addition to the two ship berths and two warehouses, the port currently operates road and rail hoppers, as well as two conveyor belts that can handle up to 3,000 tonnes per hour.

Given the current storage deficit in the Brazilian agribusiness industry, which exceeds 120 million tonnes, another Tegram operator, Kepler Weber—a storage solutions provider—is thriving and will invest in expanding several ports in the North and Northeast regions, such as Itaqui, Barcarena, Miritituba, Porto Velho, and two new ports in Bahia for handling grains and fertilizers.

“Twenty years ago, when I was in agronomy school, they used to say that ‘Brazil was only competitive within the farm gates,’ losing out on logistics. Today, the situation is completely different—Brazil is highly competitive beyond the farm gates as well,” said Bernardo Nogueira, CEO of Kepler Weber.

He pointed out that ten years ago, the cost of transporting a cargo load from Mato Grosso to Shanghai was twice the cost of shipping from Minneapolis (USA) to Shanghai, despite being the same distance. “Today, the cost is the same, and the Northern Arc is one of the reasons for that,” he stated.

Brazil’s agricultural revolution has been heavily influenced by the development of the Mapito region. Twenty years ago, Brazil’s harvest yields stood at 112 million tonnes; in 2024, it stands at 332 million tonnes. The North, Northeast, and parts of the Midwest accounted for 40% of national production; today, it’s over 60%. Logistics centered on the North Arc increased the outbound flow of all grains from 9 million to 50 million tonnes in 2022.

Rodrigo Anselmo, director at Kepler Weber, stated that the 50 million tonnes exported through the country’s North could double in 10 years, easily surpassing exports in the South. “The [Northern Arc] region has everything going for it—plenty of land, rapidly increasing productivity, improving logistics, and the ‘safrinha’—this blessing of Brazil—all forming a perfect storm that propels Brazilian agribusiness forward.”

The northern ports are also responsible for receiving imported fertilizers, which take half the time—and cost—to reach Mato Grosso.

The chart below shows the export volume of soybeans and corn at the Port of Itaqui between January 2021 and June 2024. The information was derived from DataLiner.

Soybean and Corn Exports from Itaqui Port | Jan 2021 – Jun 2024 | WTMT

Source: DataLiner (click here to request a demo)

MAPITO

The Mapito region (the states of Maranhão, Piauí, and Tocantins) plays a major role in the boom at the Port of Itaqui, which ships about 97% of all soybean and corn production from Mapito. “And the region’s projected growth shows the need for expanding port logistics to support this increase,” said Bertoni.

The expansion of Brazil’s agribusiness and the Northern Arc’s strategic location will undoubtedly require new ports or expansions of existing ones. Bertoni mentioned that CLI is eyeing other port terminals in the region as well as greenfield projects. “We’re already in advanced discussions and also in early talks on some projects. We should have some news by the end of this year,” he concluded.

Source: Dinheiro Rural

Click here to access the original news report: https://dinheirorural.com.br/expansao-do-agro-deixa-terminal-de-graos-do-maranhao-no-limite/

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