Bulk corn shipments rise 161% at Paranaguá

From January to May 2022, the volume of bulk corn shipments at the Port of Paranaguá increased 161% compared to last year. In the first five months of 2022, 1,546,247 tonnes of the product were shipped vis-a-vis 591,538 tonnes in the previous year, an increase of 954,709 tonnes.

Specifically, the exported volumes stand out for exceeding 500 thousand tonnes in the last two months. In April, 537,841 tonnes of bulk corn were shipped through the Port of Paranaguá. In May, the figure amounts to 504,286 tonnes. In 2021, in the same months, there was no bulk corn shipment.

In the fields of Paraná, the second corn crop – also called safrinha – is already starting to be harvested. “The need to empty the silos and warehouses to make room for the new crop explains the increase in the flow of the product,” comments the CEO of Portos do Paraná, Luiz Fernando Garcia.

He emphasizes that part of the exported thus far is not yet from Paraná’s second harvest, which is under harvesting. “This isn’t second-crop corn yet. Part is from this year’s first crop, and part is from the 2021 safrinha, which was still preserved for market reasons,” Garcia explains.

FACTORS – The demand for more space to receive the fresh batch isn’t the sole cause of the increase. According to corn operators in the Port of Paranaguá, the war in Ukraine has also significantly increased shipments. Particularly in the previous three months.

“Brazil is not a major exporter of summer corn. Ukraine, in turn, is usually a major supplier of corn in this period, mainly to Africa and Europe,” explains Helder Catarino, general manager of Interalli, the primary product operator at Paraná. He also noted that Brazil is a major second crop international corn exporter.

With the conflict in the Black Sea, traditional customers of Ukrainian corn had to look for other suppliers, benefiting Brazil and the ports of Paraná. “Brazil had the advantage of having kept stocks with good price margins. In other words, there was just the right balance between supply and demand,” says Catarino.

See below the comparison of corn shipments from Brazil in the first four months of the year in 2021 and 2022. The data below is from DataLiner.

Brazilian corn exports | January – April | 2021 – 2022 | WTMT

Source: DataLiner (click here to request a demo)

Paraná, Mato Grosso, and Mato Grosso do Sul are the main origin points of the corn shipped through the ports of Paraná. Egypt, Iran, Spain, South Korea, and Portugal are the leading destination for these shipments. 

Forecasts point to Paraná producing a record volume of 16 million tonnes in this off-season period. According to the state department of agriculture and supply, “added to the little more than 2.9 million tonnes of corn from the first harvest exported, the state will be accountable for about 19 million tonnes, ranking second nationally.”

The new corn crop –the safrinha interim crop – started arriving at the port earlier this month. “First, it arrives from Mato Grosso, then from Paraná, Mato Grosso do Sul, Goiás, and other producing states. The expectation is also very positive for the coming months”, comments Catalino.

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