Farming goods drive cargo throughput boost at Port of Santos

Cargo throughput at the Port of Santos reached a record 16.3 million tonnes in June, marking a 4.6% increase and bringing the semester total to 89.1 million tonnes—up 10.2% compared to the same period last year. These figures represent the highest monthly and half-yearly results ever recorded at the Port of Santos.

“The records set by cargo movement reinforce the importance of the Port of Santos for Brazil and the world,” stated Anderson Pomini, President of the Santos Port Authority (APS). “They prove the effectiveness of the measures taken by the Ministry of Ports and Airports, in perfect harmony with the management priorities of APS, which promotes unprecedented investments in infrastructure and expands the capacity of the largest port in the Southern Hemisphere.”

The first half of 2024 saw cargo throughput surpassing the entire annual movement of 2009, which stood at 83.2 million tonnes. This indicates that the Port of Santos has doubled its yearly cargo movement in 15 years. Agribusiness cargo led this impressive performance: sugar shipments reached 12.0 million tonnes, a 48.6% increase; cellulose shipments totaled 3.8 million tonnes, a 4.3% increase; meat shipments reached 1.2 million tonnes, a 27.5% increase; and coffee beans shipments totaled 1.2 million tonnes, a 62.0% increase. Fuel shipments also showed significant increases, with fuel oil shipments reaching 1.9 million tons, a 6.4% increase, and gasoline shipments totaling 645.1 thousand tons, a 71.3% increase.

Containerized cargo saw substantial growth, with 2.6 million TEU (twenty-foot equivalent units) seen in both inbound and outbound operations, a 16.5% increase for the semester. June alone accounted for 439,614 TEU, up 13.8%. Diesel and gas oil imports reached 1.3 million tonnes, an impressive 66.9% increase.

Please refer to the chart below to see how the Port of Santos fared regarding container exports and imports between January 2021 and May 2024. The information was derived from DataLiner. The expansion of the Santos Brasil terminal in the Port of Santos is expected to help ease congestion issues and increase container traffic.

Container Exports & Imports at Santos Port | Jan 2021 – May 2024 | TEUs

Source: DataLiner (click here to request a demo)

In June, shipments totaled 12.2 million tonnes, a 1.8% increase, and international discharges reached 4.0 million tonnes, a 14.3% increase. Key highlights included sugar shipments of 2.6 million tonnes, an 8.4% increase; cellulose shipments of 601.6 thousand tons, a 14.4% increase; meat shipments of 201.0 thousand tonnes, a 24.6% increase; and coffee beans shipments of 176.8 thousand tonnes, a 45.1% increase. The semester also saw 2,777 ships docked, a 4.3% increase.

Solid bulk cargo throughput rose by 4.0% for the semester, totaling 46.3 million tonnes, with significant sugar and soybean meal exports. The operations featured soybeans at 51.1%, sugar at 22.5%, soybean meal at 10.7%, corn at 2.6%, and fertilizer at 7.2%.

Liquid bulk cargo increased 6.7%, reaching 9.6 million tonnes, the best mark for the period. The breakdown included diesel and gas oil at 4.9%, fuel oil at 3.7%, citrus juices at 2.4%, gasoline at 1.4%, and caustic soda and alcohol at 1.1%.

Santos’ participation in the Brazilian commercial chain was 28.9%. Of these transactions, 24.0% involved China as a partner country. São Paulo remains the leading state for commercial transactions abroad through the Port of Santos, with a 43.8% share.

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