Santos has urgency in regaining competitiveness as fertilizers entryway

Santos Port Authority (SPA) hopes to increase the competitiveness of the port complex by leasing the STS-53 area, which will be dedicated to handling and storing cargo and mineral bulk. According to the port authority, compared to other agricultural products, fertilizers are the cargo in which Santos currently has the smallest market share: 21%. On a comparative note, SPA estimates that for most other types of cargo, Santos’ market share now exceeds the 60% mark.

In 2021, the Port of Santos handled 8 million tonnes of fertilizers. Located in the Outeirinhos region, the area to be leased is expected to be tendered in the 4th quarter of this year.

See below the top 10 origins of imported containers that arrived at the Port of Santos in the first four months of 2022. The data below comes from Datamar’s DataLiner market intelligence service.

Container Imports | Port of Santos | January 2022 – April 2022 | TEU

Source: DataLiner (clique aqui para solicitar uma demonstração)

The Santos port complex currently has a specialized terminal for fertilizers — Termag, with a berth, and a multipurpose terminal — Tiplam, which handles this cargo, on average, in two berths. Most fertilizer operations, however, are operated on the public pier via direct landings, which do not have the same productivity conditions.

“The bidding process will create one of the most important fertilizer terminals in the country. Getting STS-53 off the ground is important for the port to meet the demand for solid bulk deliveries, mainly fertilizers,” said the president of SPA, Fernando Biral, this Thursday (23), during a public hearing on the leasing of the STS-53 area, promoted by the National Waterway Transportation Agency (ANTAQ).

Biral added that, although the logistical corridor for exporting soybeans, corn, and sugar is practically the same as for imports of fertilizers, Santos currently takes advantage of only 14% of the potential for return freight created by the route of agribusiness exports.

In Paranaguá (PR), the current leader in fertilizer discharges, this indicator is 46%. According to the executive, the objective is that Santos manages to be the shortest path and with the best cost for producers and consumers, reversing the current scenario.

“Fertilizers are or should be regular return loads for the wagons that descend from the country’s inland to the ports with products for export, but a lack of specialized supply at the Santos docks created a logistical anomaly that places a burden on the commodity,” said Biral.

The SPA president highlighted that the annual growth of fertilizer imports through Porto Santos has remained double-digit since 2016. He said this expansion is not greater only because Santos lacks the technical capacity to receive fertilizers destined for the crops in Brazil’s central region. “The STS-53 is important for Santos and urgent for the outflow of Brazilian agribusiness at competitive costs,” argued Biral.

Source: Jornal Portuário

To read the full original article, please go to: https://www.jornalportuario.com.br/interna/destaque-portuario/santos-tem-urgencia-de-recuperar-competitividade-no-escoamento-de-fertilizantes-diz-

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