Paraná ports register 9% growth in first quarter and 21% growth in March

In March, cargo movement at Paraná ports grew 21% year-on-year. During the month, terminals in Paraná handled around 5.2 million tons, despite the challenges faced due to the pandemic.  In the solid bulk segment alone, the ports handled 3.6 million tons of cargo. This volume is 33% higher than the volume handled in March 2019 (2.7 million).

Export bulk registered a 41.5% increase, driven up mainly by sugar and soybeans%. For sugar (in bulk and bagged), 190,428 tons were exported via Paranaguá in March – 85% more than the 102,751 tons exported in 2019. Soy exports registered an 83% increase, with 2.16 million tons of the product shipped.

In the case of solid bulk imports, the highlight of the month was fertilizers. In March, 624,883 tons of products were offloaded at Paranaguá and Antonina. This volume is 15% higher than year-ago levels.  In liquid bulk, the strongest movement was seen by the export of soy oil. In March, 121,364 tons of the product was exported – a 37% year-on-year increase.

In the general cargo segment, 982,247 tons were handled by Paraná ports. This volume is almost 3% higher than that registered in March 2019. Within this segment, containerized goods showed a 5% increase, with 39,202 TEU handled, compared with 37,411 TEU in March last year.

First-quarter shows a 9% increase in cargo handling

Looking at the first quarter as a whole, Paraná ports showed a cumulative growth of 9% in the volume of cargo handled. From January to March, about 12.5 million tons passed through the terminals in the region, one million more than the first quarter of 2019.  The increase, both for import and export, was observed in all segments. Hence, the figures show that the effects of the coronavirus pandemic had not yet been felt by ports in Paraná in the first quarter.

The Solid Bulk segment handled almost 8 million tons in the first three months of the year, 8% more than the same time last year. Highlights on the export side were soy, bran, sugar and corn. The import side mainly comprised of fertilizers, salt, malt and barley.

As a percentage, the type of cargo that grew the most was liquid bulk, with 1.7 million tons handled – 11% more than in the first quarter of 2019 (1.6 million). Soy oil exports alone increased by 67% during this period, with 210,657 tons exported.

Almost 2.8 million tons of general cargo were handled by Paraná ports during the first quarter – 9% higher than year-ago levels. Of the segment, container trade stood at 211,563 TEU during the period, as compared with 195,062 TEU during the same period last year. The volume of containerized cargo handled increased by 3%, with 677,358 tons this year, compared with 656,909 tons last year. The main containerized export cargo from the region was chicken. In this first quarter, 154,187 tons were exported, 1% more than in 2019.

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