Port of Paranaguá makes first shipment of bagged cornmeal

Port operations continue as normal, with extra care being taken. This weekend, the Port of Paranaguá made Brazil’s first shipment of bagged cornmeal, as 6,000 tons of cornflour is shipped to feed families in Congo, Africa. The product is from Paraná, originating in the Maringá region. A total of 240,000 bags were shipped.

According to the president of Portos do Paraná, Luiz Fernando Garcia, it is important that a diverse range of cargo is handled. “The entire logistics chain wins with a new product among exports. We have already shown that we have the knowledge, capacity, and structure to serve the general cargo segment with quality and efficiency, which is the one that has been growing the most,” he says.

Cornflour has been exported for some years now via the Port of Paranaguá, albeit in containers. “Our expectations with this breakbulk shipment is very good. This new product opens a new possibility that does not depend on the harvest, as the flour uses stored corn. It is a regular product, exported all year round. This is good for the entire port community ”, says Patrick Ferreira Tavares, commercial director of the Marcon group, the company responsible for loading.

According to Tavares, the operation uses 25 kg bags, such as that used for sugar. Other goods that can follow this same trend are beans, popcorn, sesame and derivatives. “We believe that there is a great possibility that they will follow the same path, due to the quantity already exported in containers”, says Tavares.  In 2019, 1,280 TEUs of cornflour was exported, 2,263 TEUs of beans, 1,450 TEUs of popcorn, and 130 TEUs of sesame seeds.

Certain precautions have to be taken in storing and transporting the cornflour as it is a food item for human consumption. “We have several controllers monitoring this operation, looking at quality and cleanliness in warehouses, outside the port, in trucks, in ship loaders, and in-vessel holds,” guarantees the commercial director of the company. According to him, the shipment was discussed with the Operations Directorate of Paraná Ports for more than a month. “The port provided all the conditions for this operation to be carried out and it is one of the few ports in the country to have the capacity to carry out this operation,” he says. The reason, according to Tavares, is that in the Paraná terminal, retro area warehouses are specialized in foodstuffs, with a static capacity of over 100,000 tons. “This allows us to maintain productivity when loading the ship. In addition, the Port of Paranaguá provides security to operators. Today we have the best structure in the country for general cargo,” he says.

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