VLI Sets Record Sugar Transport Volume in 2023/24 Harvest

Rail logistics company VLI saw a record sugar transport volume during the 2023/24 harvest, which ended in March, with 6.1 million tonnes moved. This figure represented 17.3% of Brazil’s sugar exports during the period.

Compared to the previous harvest, this volume represents a 24% increase. Additionally, VLI’s sugar throughput at the Luiz Antonio Mesquita Multimodal Port Terminal (Tiplam) in the Port of Santos grew by 28%, reaching 5.1 million tonnes.

The following chart shows Port of Santos’ sugar export volume measured in TEUs between Jan 2021 and Mar 2024. The data comes from DataLiner, a Datamar business intelligence product.

Sugar Exports from Santos Port | Jan 2021 – Mar 2024 | TEUs

Source: DataLiner (click here to request a demo)

This growth reflects the surge in Brazilian sugar output in the last harvest and the strategic investments made by VLI and the French company Tereos in infrastructure for sugar transport in Brazil four years ago. Of the total volume transported by VLI on its railways, 1.1 million tonnes came from Tereos, marking a 7% increase.

The partnership between VLI and Tereos is developed in a “co-investment” model, involving the installation of storage facilities, which enhances turnover and capacity, according to Carolina Hernandez, VLI’s commercial director.

In 2020, VLI and Tereos inaugurated two sugar warehouses at Tiplam and the Guará Multimodal Terminal (SP), with the capacity to store 115,000 and 160,000 tonnes of raw sugar, respectively. Nicolas Swazko, VLI’s Southeast corridor operations director, emphasized the importance of private terminals in the Port of Santos, citing the strong performance figures.

Through this partnership, Tereos secures a spot in VLI’s rail network. “Efficient transportation of our product is crucial for optimizing our business results,” said Gustavo Segantini, Tereos’ commercial director.

Despite a projected decline in the sugarcane harvest in the Center-South region, Tereos expects to see sugar production volumes between 1.9 million and 2 million tons. Last year, the company processed 21.2 million tonnes of sugarcane, nearing its installed capacity of 21.5 million tonnes per harvest.

For agricultural product operations, VLI faces challenges in grain transportation. Producers are storing their output in anticipation of higher prices, which could lead to a large volume needing to be transported simultaneously and potential increases in freight costs. Hernandez expressed concern about these logistical challenges.

Source: Globo Rural

Click here to read the original news report: https://globorural.globo.com/especiais/caminhos-da-safra/noticia/2024/05/vli-movimenta-volume-recorde-de-acucar-na-safra-202324.ghtml

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