Portos RS announces record-breaking Q1 2023 cargo volumes

Portos RS, the company responsible for managing three public ports and several private terminals in Rio Grande do Sul, released its Q1 2023 cargo volumes on Monday, April 17. The company reported receiving a total of 935 vessels over the past 90 days, with 772 of them docking at the Port of Rio Grande and Superporto terminals, accounting for 82.57% of the total number. Pelotas came in second place, receiving 130 vessels, and Porto Alegre took third place with 33 ships.

Compared to the same period in the previous year, the Porto do Rio Grande saw an increase of 17,680 tonnes of cargo in Q1 2023, reaching a total of 8,995,711 tonnes. The month of March saw the highest volume of cargo flow, with 3,350,038 tonnes passing through the public harbor and private terminals of the Superporto.

In terms of cargo types, solid bulk cargo took the lead in terms of volume, accounting for 5,266,028 tons, followed by general cargo at 2,774,662 tonnes and liquid bulk at 955,021 tonnes. These numbers indicate the best Q1 in the history of the Rio Grande commercial port.

Corn, with an increase of 155.83%, phosphate, with a rise of 139.17%, and potassium chloride, with an increase of 20.04%, were the main drivers of growth. In terms of containers, 85,302 full units and 58,094 empty units were moved, totaling 143,396 units in Q1.

See below a chart displaying the export and import trends of containerized cargo seen in the Port of Rio Grande between Jan 2019 and Feb 2023, according to the DataLiner data service.

Containerized cargo in Rio Grande | Jan 2019 – Feb 2023 | TEU

Source: DataLiner (click here to request a demo)

China remains the primary export destination, followed by Poland, Vietnam, Portugal, and Saudi Arabia, which accounted for 2,274,247 tonnes. Argentina was the main origin of imports, followed by Morocco, Canada, China, and the United States, with a total of 849,518 tonnes.

Port of Pelotas

The Port of Pelotas handled 311,696 tonnes of cargo in Q1, mainly timber logs, and clinker. The port’s commercial dock moved 281,051 tonnes of timber and another 30,645 tons of clinker.

Porto Alegre port

After Rio Grande, the second port to see the largest growth in Q1 was Porto Alegre, which moved 12,112 tonnes more than the same period the previous year. The most prominent cargo involved in operations at Porto Alegre included barley, fertilizers, bovine tallow, and general cargo.

The cargo origins at the port included Saudi Arabia, Argentina, China, Israel, Morocco, Russia, and Venezuela. The port saw 33 vessel berthings in the quarter.

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