The National Waterway Transport Agency (Antaq) disclosed this Monday (15) that port cargo handling in Brazil in the first half had the second best result in history, behind only that recorded in the same period in 2021. drop of 3.3%.
The decrease in port movement in the first half of the year compared to last year is due to a very strong basis for comparison, according to Antaq technicians. The drop was highlighted as a result of the slowdown in the international market and the increase in inflation in the country. Segments The numbers related to the agribusiness segments were the highlight in the first half of the year.
The agricultural sector showed a rise of 2.1% in cargo handling in the first half of the year. The oil, oil and gas segments (-6.6%); mining (-6.4%); and containers (-4.4%) fell. “Fuels is still performing very well for the first half of 2022 in relation to the historical series. In addition, there was an oscillation in containers, but the category has shown a tendency to remain stable”, said Fernando Serra, superintendent of Antaq. “The only part that is very affected is the minerals part, mainly iron ore, which has fallen over time,” he added. Loads Commodities such as iron ore, soybeans and oil led to the decrease in bulk movement, while cellulose led to an increase in “general cargo”.
Solid bulk (-4.4%), liquid bulk (-4.5%) and containers (-4.4%) showed similar declines, around 4%. General loads increased by 18.6% compared to the first half of 2021. “The pulp market did not feel the impact of the pandemic, and Brazil is the second largest producer and the first exporter. It is an expanding market, which allies itself to the paper used in packaging and hygiene products, which has kept the sector warm.
So, in terms of general cargo, we had a significant movement”, pointed out superintendent José Neto.
