Brazil's Parana ports handle record cargo in Aug

The Paranagua and Antonina ports, in Brazil's southern Parana state, handled a record amount of cargo in August thanks to increased fertilizer imports.

The two ports handled 6.9mn metric tonnes (t) of cargo in August, up by 14pc from the same month in 2023 and above the prior record of 6.6mn t in June, according to Parana's port authority data.

That also surpassed July's handling by 20pc.

Imports totaled 2.5mn t last month, a 41pc hike from August 2023 and above the 2.2mn t handled in July.

Fertilizer imports increased by 59pc to 1.2mn t in August from a year before and were 29pc — or 265,170t — above the prior month's imports.

Exports reached 4.4mn t, up from 4.3mn t in August 2023 and a near 27pc increase from July's exports.

Soybean shipments rose by 10pc to 1.9mn t in August from the same month last year. That was also above the 1.3mn t exported in the previous month.

Corn exports decreased by 77pc to 72,900t, down from 316,430t shipped in August 2023 and almost in line with July's exports.

Exports of bulk sugar increased by 34pc to 836,430t last month from the same period a year ago. That was also up by 77pc from July's exports.

Parana ports handled 46.4mn t in January-August, up by 10pc from the same period in 2023, also boosted by higher imports.

Imports increased by 23pc to 17.2mn t. Fertilizer imports rose by 14pc to 6.9mn t, up from 6mn t in January-August 2023.

Exports totaled 29.2mn t, a 4pc increase from the same eight months last year.

Soybean shipments rose by 11pc to 11.2mn t in the period, while corn exports dropped by 80pc to 581,730t from the same eight-month period in 2023.

Wheat exports in January-August more than tripled to 171,830t from the same period a year before. Sugar shipments increased by 46pc to 4.2mn t.

By Maria Albuquerque