Port of Paranaguá makes pioneer shipment in Brazil

This week, the Port of Paranaguá ships the first load of “bran” produced by corn processing for ethanol. Known in the market as DDGS, the operation will be a test for the product to enter the routine of Paraná’s bulk exports. In this first batch, 27,500 tons will be taken to the United Kingdom, England, by the ship Interlink Acuity.

“We were excited when the demand came and even more when this operation was confirmed. It is an opportunity for business expansion not only for the port and operators, but also for the state industry,” says the president of the public company Portos do Paraná, Luiz Fernando Garcia.

The ship that will receive the cargo (which uses the acronym for Dried Distillers Grains With Solubles) arrived on Monday (12/16) and is scheduled to dock and begin loading on berth 212, in the Export Corridor, on the 22th.

“The product is new. It was never exported by the Port of Paranaguá. In this operation, it will use our belts and the infrastructure of the Export Corridor,” says the operations director, Luiz Teixeira da Silva Junior.

According to Teixeira, any new product that adds to port operations excites the entire chain. “Especially when you see that this is a segment that will grow even more. The product only adds to the capacity of the Export Corridor; we have prepared ourselves for this demand,” he adds.

Operation – The batch is already complete and stored at Cimbessul terminal in Paranaguá. According to the port operations coordinator Ronaldo Zucarelli, there were 700 trucks that unloaded the DDGS in the company’s warehouses. The product is segregated in the warehouse as required by the buyer.

Valmir Pedro Adamante, the terminal’s executive director, explains that the movement of this corn byproduct is new to the sector. “It’s a challenge we took on. We have space left and we decided to face the process and hope to succeed in this shipment,” he says.

This, he said, will be a first test, but the prospects are good. “From what we see of growth in Brazilian production this is a business that will be going strong in the coming years. We’re excited,” he comments.

The director says that there are several countries that already show interest in the product, because the DDGS is already processed and ready for consumption. “It will be an interesting business that will compete with the soybean meal market and will grow a lot,” says Adamante.

Producer – The product shipped by the Port of Paranaguá was produced in Sinop, Mato Grosso, by Inpasa Agroindustrial S.A. The company processes 3,600 tons of corn per day in the country, producing 1.5m liters of ethanol and 1,000 tons of DDGS daily.

According to the Commercial Manager, Jeferson Santi, in addition to the company’s first export of DDGS by the country, this would be the pioneer in Brazil. “We are drawing attention because it will be the first export of the country. Another product of Brazilian agribusiness,” he says. “We are excited to be opening this export market in Brazil,” adds Eliane Montanheiro, responsible for the group’s logistics department.

This market is currently dominated by the United States, which exports around 40m tons of DDGS per year.

In Brazil, in addition to the Sinop unit, the company should open a second unit in Nova Mutum, also in Mato Grosso, which should be inaugurated in the second half of 2020, adding the production of another 750 tons of DDGS per day. In Paraguay, the group has two other units that already export from the neighboring country.

“There’s plenty of room for the product to grow both domestically and internationally,” concludes Jeferson.

Shipping in the Port encourages state industry

DDGS is a byproduct of corn processing for ethanol, which is left over from grain. This first load is from Mato Grosso, but this step taken in the industry of the state animates the only mill that produces ethanol from the grain in Paraná.

According to the commercial manager of the Vale do Ivaí Agroindustrial Cooperative (Cooperval), Claudinei José Vesco, the fact that there are conditions to export DDGS by the state is an advance. “It’s big news and very positive for the industry. I have no doubt that it will be great to expand the process and production,” he says.

The plant, located in Jandaia do Sul, started production in 2018. Last year, 17,000 tons of corn were processed to produce about 7,000 m³ of ethanol. “This year we had a very big jump. We are closing with approximately 90,000 tons of processed corn and a production of over 36,000 cubic meters of ethanol,” celebrates Vesco.

By 2020, the plant is expected to process around 150,000 tons of corn, further increasing ethanol production and opportunities to market byproducts such as DDGS.

“Year after year, we have been improving the process and opening new markets. We are currently still the first and only to produce corn ethanol from the state, but we know this is a trend that should generate new plants,” he adds.

Product – As explained by the representative of Cooperval, for the production of ethanol, the corn needs to be ground into flour. “It goes through a process similar to baking until it becomes ethanol. What is left is a product that is like cornmeal but thicker. This goes through a drying process, and then we get DDGS,” he says.

The product, he said, has over 30% protein, excellent for animal feed. “We have already produced this product for the domestic market of small consumers, but we have conditions to meet a higher demand, including from the foreign market,” concludes the commercial manager.

Ethanol – According to the National Supply Company (Conab), total corn-based ethanol production in Brazil is expected to reach 1.35bn liters in the 2019/20 crop, representing an increase of 70.3% over the previous year.

Despite having only one plant, Paraná is the third biofuel producing state, behind Mato Grosso and Goiás. According to the national company, from 2018/2019 to 2019/2020, production in the state increased 467.3%. from 9,569 liters to 54,288.

“The lower cost of producing corn-based ethanol, rising second-crop corn production, and strong demand from animal protein-producing segments were some of the reasons why industries adhered to the new business model,” says Conab.

One ton of corn is capable of producing 420 liters of ethanol and 300 pounds of DDGS.

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