Brazil’s São Francisco port raises share of national fertilizer imports in 2025

The Port of São Francisco do Sul imported 2.75 million metric tons of fertilizers in 2025, up 10% from 2.5 million tons in 2024, increasing its share of Brazil’s total fertilizer imports, official data showed.

Data from Datamar show that fertilizer throughput on the import side totaled 2,530,877 tonnes between January and November 2025, representing an increase of 14.6%.

Below are the monthly fertilizer import volumes recorded at the Port of São Francisco do Sul, according to the DataLiner platform.

Fertilizer Imports | São Francisco do Sul | 2022–2025 | WTMT

Source: DataLiner (click here to request a demo)

The volume accounted for 6% of Brazil’s total fertilizer imports, which reached 45.5 million tons last year. In 2024, the Santa Catarina port had handled 5.6% of national imports, out of 44.3 million tons unloaded across the country.

The figures were released by Brazil’s National Supply Company (Conab) in a recent foreign trade report.

Fertilizers, which are distinct from pesticides, are soil nutrients essential for boosting agricultural productivity, particularly in corn, soybean, rice and wheat crops.

According to Port President Cleverton Vieira, the growth was driven in part by a new internal regulation introduced in early 2025 granting priority berthing to fertilizer vessels at one of the terminal’s docks.

“At the same time, we made significant infrastructure investments to speed up unloading operations, which reduced waiting times for fertilizer vessels by 60%,” Vieira said.

Stronger role in corn and soybean exports

The port also expanded its role in Brazil’s corn export market. In 2025, São Francisco do Sul accounted for 7.7% of national corn exports, up from 6% a year earlier. Brazil exported 41 million tons of corn during the period.

In soybeans, the port handled 6.1 million tons in 2025, representing 5.7% of Brazil’s total soybean exports, which reached 108 million tons.

Source: São Francisco do Sul Port

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