February repeats January’s performance as cargo handling grows 17.7% at the Port of Santos

Cargo handling at the Port of Santos remained heated in February as figures at the end of the month were 17.7% above the same period last year, reaching 12.9 million tonnes. Such a result raised the year-to-date to 23.5 million tonnes, 16.9% above the first two months of 2021, making it the best performance ever achieved in the period. February repeated the performance seen in January, which had already shown double-digit growth (+16%).

The 22.1% increase in export cargo was decisive in attaining this result. Approximately 9.2 million tonnes were destined for export in the month and 16.3 million tonnes in the year (+ 22.9%). Imports also rose, reaching 3.7 million tonnes, 8.1% above February 2021.

Products derived from agribusiness were the highlight of the month and the year alike. For example, soybeans and their derivatives reached 4.2 million tonnes in February (+47.2%) and, in the sum of the first two months, 5.5 million tonnes (+ 67.8%). Corn was another commodity that stood out, with 240.1 thousand tonnes in the month (no movement of this cargo in February 2021) and 1.2 million tonnes in the sum of January and February (+107%). Meat handlings increased by 47% in the month (190.8 thousand tonnes) and 74 % in January and February combined (379.8 thousand tonnes).

Fertilizers were the highlight among imports, with landings of 837.1 thousand tonnes in the month (+6%) and 1.6 million tonnes in the year-to-date (+8%).

Container operations, including loading and unloading, totaled 370.6 thousand TEU in the month (-5%) and 754.6 thousand TEU in the first two months of the year (-1%). Despite the reduction, t was the second-best movement in history for both periods.

Cargo handling of solid bulk in Santos totaled 6.9 million tonnes in February (+35.9%) and 11.2 million tonnes in the sum of January and February (+33.5%). On the other hand, liquid bulk reached 1.3 million tonnes in the month (+2.6%), reflecting the increase in shipments of fuel oil (+59.4%) and citrus juice (+26.9%).

See below the major Port of Santos’ export and import trends from January 2020 to January 2022 measured in TEUs. The data is from Dataliner.

Exports and Imports from the Port of Santos | Jan 2022 – Jan 2022 | TEU

Source: Dataliner (click here to request a demo)

Trade Flow

The share of the Port of Santos in Brazilian trade increased in February, reaching 29.2%. Commercial transactions with China accounted for the largest share, 29.7%. São Paulo remained the Brazilian state with the highest participation in foreign trade transactions: 52.3%.

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