Better management at Paraná Ports allows significant cost reductions for fertilizer handling

Expenditure on demurrage for fertilizer imports via the ports of Paraná was 43% lower in 2019. The data were released this Wednesday (02/02) by Sindiadubos (the Fertilizer and Agricultural Representative Body for Paraná State. This meant a saving last year of US$20.39 million.

Among the factors encouraging this were continuous improvements in the effectiveness of ship scheduling and in the logistics of unloading, transport and storage operations, in general. According to the CEO of Portos do Paraná, Luiz Fernando Garcia, the public company has dedicated itself to optimize the operation times and reduce the costs of port operators, in all segments. “We are constantly working to ensure that the rules that help in scheduling of moorings and operations of the ships are clear, transparent and guarantee better occupation of the commercial public wharf, as well as a reduction in operational time. With that, not only does everyone win, they also stop losing with extra expenses ”, he says.

Details released by Sindiadubos showed the most significant reduction in vessel mooring costs was at the commercial public wharf. The amount paid in demurrage was 51% lower in operations for berths 208, 209 and 211, in 2019. Last year, the sector paid about US$20.4 million in vessel lay-overs, compared with US$42.07 million in 2018.

“The 43% reduction in demurrage payments means that ships have waited less time to unload. This is because the operations have been increasingly effective, both at the port and at the rear – in transport and storage ”, reaffirms the manager of Sindiadubos, Décio Gomes. The fertilizer sector expects, for 2020, a year similar to the previous year, in terms of import volume. However, as Gomes says, some external factors may influence this year’s scenario, such as the commercial relationship between the United States and China; the performance of North American crops; exchange rate changes and the value of the Real.

Fertilizers – The import of fertilizers through the ports of Paraná (commercial pier of the Port of Paranaguá, Fospar Terminal and Ponta do Félix Terminal in Antonina) in 2019 reached almost 9.15 million tons.  Despite the volume representing a decrease of 5% in relation to the movements of the previous year, the ports of Paraná continue to be the main portal for fertilizers in the country. The Antonina and Paranaguá terminals receive about 28% of the fertilizers imported by Brazil.

The main products imported in the year were potassium chloride – MOP (31% of the total), NPK complexes (14%), monoammonium phosphate – MAP (13%), ammonium sulfate (12%) and urea (11%). The main origins of the products are Russia, China, the United States and Canada.

The following graphs, based on DataLiner data, from Datamar, provide an overview of Brazilian fertilizer imports:

Graphics source: DataLiner / Datamar

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