Aug 05, 2010
Brazilian Ports Working to Get Bigger Share of Paraguay Grain Exports
Author: Michael Cordonnier/Soybean & Corn Advisor, Inc.
Port authorities at the Ports of Paranagua and Antonina located in the state of Parana are working with co-op officials in land-locked Paraguay to establish a "dry port" in western Parana for the export of soybeans, soybean meal, corn, and wheat grown in Paraguay. The Port of Paranagua used to be the principal port for exports out of Paraguay, but the Brazilian ports have lost business in recent years to ports in Uruguay and Argentina located downstream from Paraguay on the Parana River.
Products from the 10 leading cooperatives in Paraguay, which are responsible for 60% of the soybean production in the country, would be shipped to secure warehouses in the city of Cascavel in western Parana. The "dry port" would function just like any other port and the entire operation would be controlled by the Parana Agriculture Development Company (Codapar). From the secure warehouses in Cascavel, the grain would be shipped with identity preserved via truck or rail to the ports of Paranagua and Antonina.
The goal is to give the small and medium producers in Paraguay the option of exporting their grain through Brazil where there may be logistical advantages as well as lower tariffs. Most of the soybean farmers in Paraguay are Brazilians who moved across the border in search of cheaper land. Additionally, it is only a short distance from the soybean fields of Paraguay to Cascavel and a truck could make the round trip in one day.
Expectations are that in 2011 the Port of Paranagua will handle 600,000 tons of grain from Paraguay which is expected to produce 8 million tons combined of soybeans, corn, and wheat during the 2010/11 growing season.