São Francisco Port ranks 7th among Brazil’s public ports

The National Waterway Transportation Agency (Antaq) has confirmed that the Port of São Francisco do Sul has risen to seventh place in the ranking of Brazil’s public ports.

Official data released by the Ministry of Infrastructure shows that the port in northern Santa Catarina climbed two positions compared to the previous year when it was ranked 9th.

The advancement comes as a result of the historic performance in 2023 when São Francisco handled 16.8 million tons of goods, marking a 33% increase compared to 2022.

Among the top 10 public ports in the country, it experienced the highest growth rate (33%), and among all 32 public terminals, it achieved the second-highest growth percentage.

Largest Port in Santa Catarina

In November, Antaq had already announced that São Francisco do Sul had taken the lead in cargo handling among the ports in Santa Catarina, surpassing the private port terminals Portonave and Itapoá, thus becoming the largest in the state.

Last year, São Francisco also led in cargo volume growth among the ports in Santa Catarina, with a 33% increase. Following were Portonave (+23%) and Itapoá (+20%).

The combined cargo throughput of the six ports in Santa Catarina in 2023 reached 61.7 million tons, representing an 11.4% increase compared to 2022.

This data indicates that Santa Catarina experienced the highest growth rate among the states in the Southern region of the country, surpassing Paraná (+11%) and Rio Grande do Sul (+10%).

Antaq’s data also reveals that Santa Catarina’s growth was 66% higher than the national port evolution (6.8%).

Babitonga Complex 

Three port terminals located in Babitonga Bay, in the north of the state (São Francisco, Itapoá, and Tefran), handled 39 million tons last year.

This figure represents 64% of all cargo handled by the ports in Santa Catarina (61.7 million tons).

According to Vieira, the alignment of actions by the Port administration and its collaborators, port operators, casual port workers, and intervening agencies (Navy, Federal Police, Federal Revenue, Anvisa, Mapa, and Antaq) has allowed the development of a port that has been breaking handling records, showing efficiency indices in cargo throughput similar to those of the most modern terminals in the country.

Exports Surpass Imports

Exports accounted for 60% of the flow of products passing through the Port of São Francisco in 2023, totaling 10.2 million tons.

The largest volumes handled were grains, with 9.6 million tons (soybeans, 5 million, and corn, 4.6 million), followed by vegetable oil (250,000 liters) and wood (196,000 tons).

Imports reached 4.2 million tons, with fertilizers (2.8 million) being the highlight.

Furthermore, coastal shipping arrivals, handled by the lessee Tesc, reached 2.5 million tons, driven by steel products from Espírito Santo, primarily supplying the ArcelorMittal company located in São Francisco do Sul.

Steady Growth

Since the beginning of 2023, the increase in cargo throughput compared to the previous year has been uninterrupted in São Francisco. For example, in January, it was 46% higher than the same month in 2022, as well as in May (+48%) and December (+71%).

“For 2024, we aim to further advance by investing in technology and improving both the waterway and land infrastructure of our facility, so that the Port of São Francisco can grow sustainably, contributing to our state’s continued example for Brazil,” emphasizes President Cleverton Vieira.

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