TCP grows 8% in the first quarter of 2026

Cargo handled by the Paranaguá Container Terminal totaled 2.991 million tonnes in the first quarter of 2026, up 8% from 2.658 million tonnes in the same period of 2025. The figure reflects cargo throughput only and does not include the weight of containers.

Comparing the first quarter of the two years, exports rose from 1.885 million tonnes to 2.096 million tonnes, an increase of 11%. The main export segments were meat and frozen products, up 15%, from 903,000 tonnes to 1.040 million tonnes; wood, which remained stable at 347,000 tonnes; and paper and pulp, which climbed 16%, from 238,000 tonnes to 275,000 tonnes.

Chicken exports increased from 563,000 tonnes to 649,000 tonnes, 15% above the year-earlier period. Data from Brazil’s Ministry of Development, Industry, Trade and Services, compiled by TCP’s market intelligence team, show the terminal’s market share in those shipments rising from 45% to 49%. The main destinations this year were China, the United Arab Emirates and South Africa, each accounting for 10%, similar to 2025, with only a slight change in the ranking of the second- and third-largest destinations.

Beef exports rose from 182,000 tonnes to 209,000 tonnes, also 15% above the first quarter of 2025, while the terminal’s market share remained stable at 27% in both periods. In 2025, the three main buyers of beef exported through TCP were China with 48%, the United States with 10% and Hong Kong with 4%. In 2026, China, at 43%, and the United States, at 11%, remained the main destinations, while Russia, at 8%, became the third-largest importer.

“TCP is the port terminal with the largest refrigerated container storage capacity in the country, with 5,280 reefer plugs, making it the main partner for Brazil’s meat and frozen-product export industries. With 23 regular weekly calls, the terminal is also Brazil’s largest concentration point for maritime services, which gives exporters greater flexibility and more shipping options,” said Rafael Stein, TCP’s institutional and legal superintendent.

On the import side, volume rose 2% in the first quarter, from 800,000 tonnes to 816,000 tonnes. The main segments were automotive cargo, which largely supplies industries in the Curitiba metropolitan region and totaled 131,000 tonnes, chemicals with 130,000 tonnes, and electronics and machinery, which reached 73,000 tonnes.

New throughput record

Between January and March 2026, TCP handled the equivalent of 411,000 TEUs, 3% more than in the same period of 2025 and a new record for the period.

Looking only at full containers, exports grew 10% to 154,000 TEUs shipped, up from 141,000 TEUs a year earlier. Imports, meanwhile, remained stable at a cumulative 83,000 TEUs between January and March.

Reflecting export performance, reefer container throughput, including units used to transport meat and frozen cargo, reached 39,252 containers, surpassing the 2025 record of 35,809 units by 10%.

The number of containers moved through the truck access roads to the operating yard also set a new record, at 162,000 units. The terminal recorded 244 vessel calls during the period.

On the rail side, which connects the terminal’s operating yard to the branch lines in Ortigueira, Cambé and Cascavel in the northern and western regions of Paraná state, TCP handled just over 26,000 containers, a stable result compared with the first quarter of the previous year.

Rail volume is expected to increase by the end of the year with the completion of work on a third rail line and a new switching area inside the terminal’s operating yard. The project, developed in partnership with Brado Logística, includes 757 additional meters of track and should expand the capacity of the rail mode by about 20%. Rail is considered strategic for Paraná’s chicken meat and pulp-and-paper export industries.

TCP currently operates with two rail lines: while one train arrives at the yard, another leaves, allowing the loading and unloading of 41 containers at a time. With the new line and switching area, two trains will be able to operate simultaneously while a third departs, potentially doubling the volume handled per operation to as many as 82 units.

About 17% of all full export cargo handled by TCP reached the terminal by rail.

Source: TCP

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