Port of Santos steadfast in cargo throughput growth

The Port of Santos is steadfast in its trajectory of cargo throughput growth, reaching some 15.8 million tonnes in May, a record for the period, exhibiting a 4.9% year-on-year increase. This performance brought the year’s total throughput to 72.8 million tonnes, up 11.5%, also a record for the period.

Agribusiness products once again led this growth, with sugar standing out at 2.2 million tonnes for the month (+18.7%) and 9.5 million tonnes for the first five months of the year (+65.6%). Coffee bean shipments also saw significant increases, with 204.7 thousand tonnes in the month (+89.1%) and 1.0 million tonnes year-to-date (+65.3%). Other notable figures include meat at 225.0 thousand tonnes for the month (+32.2%) and 994.9 thousand tonnes year-to-date (+28.0%), cellulose pulp at 631.7 thousand tonnes for the month (+14.3%) and 3.2 million tonnes year-to-date (+2.7%), and fertilizer imports at 662.9 thousand tonnes for the month (+40.4%) and 2.8 million tonnes year-to-date (-6.1%).

Anderson Pomini, president of the Santos Port Authority (APS), stated, “The infrastructure necessary to sustain agricultural exports is expanding within the Santos port complex, which is a significant driver of this performance.”

Containerized cargo movement also showed excellent performance, totaling 443.6 thousand TEUs, 10.1% higher than the same month last year (403.0 thousand TEUs). The year-to-date total remains 17.0% above the same period last year, reaching 2.2 million TEUs. Both results are the best recorded for May and year-to-date.

The Port of Santos is South America’s largest. The chart below illustrates container exports and exports between January 2021 and April 2024.

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

Source: DataLiner (click here to request a demo)

Overall, shipments reached 12.0 million tonnes for the month, a growth of 4.1%, and 54.3 million tonnes year-to-date, 13% above the same period in 2023. Imports totaled 3.9 million tonnes for the month, 7.5% higher than May of the previous year, with the year-to-date figure reaching 18.5 million tonnes, up 7.3%.

Solid bulk cargo during the first five months of the year totaled 37.0 million tonnes, a 4.9% increase over the same period in 2023, marking the best cumulative performance for this period.

Liquid bulk cargo during this period totaled 8.0 million tonnes, an 8.2% increase – the best mark for the period. Highlights in this segment included gasoline, with 166.7 thousand tonnes for the month (+293.9%) and 489.7 thousand tonnes year-to-date (+79.7%), and diesel oil, with 211.1 thousand tonnes for the month (+102.9%) and 790.9 thousand tonnes year-to-date (+23.7%).

In May, there were 472 ship dockings (+0.2%), and in the first five months of the year, a total of 2,305 dockings (+5.1%) were recorded.

Trade flow

The Port of Santos’ share in Brazilian trade flow has grown, reaching 29.0%. About 29.0% of national commercial transactions abroad involved China as a partner country. São Paulo, with 52.7%, remains the state with the highest share of international commercial transactions through Santos.

Sharing is caring!