Feb 08, 2010
Dryer Weather Allows For Increased Harvest Activity In Brazil
Author: Michael Cordonnier/Soybean & Corn Advisor, Inc.
For much of the past week, Brazil has been experiencing intense heat. Temperatures over 100 degrees have been common all throughout central and southern Brazil and the humidity has been very high. The larger cities in southern Brazil have been recording record electrical usage during the same period. Soybean farmers in Mato Grosso are taking advantage of the sunshine to ramp up their soybean harvest which is now approaching 18 to 20%. A significant portion of the soybeans in southern Mato Grosso are approaching maturity and on the days when it did not rain, we saw combines working in the fields until at least ten o'clock at night. Nationwide, the soybean crop is approaching 8 to 10% harvested.
Logistical Problems Already Bad In Brazil, Could Get Worse
Brazil always has logistical problems when it comes to transporting their soybean crop during the peak of the harvest, but this year it is going to be worse than ever. At the rail terminal for the Ferronorte railroad in southeastern Mato Grosso, truckers are already waiting up to 48 hours to unload their soybeans. Frustrated with the delay, truckers blocked the highway leading to the terminal for 15 hours causing a traffic jam of 40 kilometers in each direction. The police opened up the highway, but there are still long lines waiting to unload. The truckers suspect that ALL (America Latina Logistica), the company that operates the Ferronorte is using trucks as temporary storage, but officials from ALL responded that they are unloading 600-700 trucks per day, which is their normal capacity.
I can personally attest to the fact that the number of trucks traveling on Mato Grosso highways is really hard to comprehend. On highway BR-364, which is the only major highway leading out of Mato Grosso, the line of semi trucks stretches to the horizon in both directions. Highway BR-364 connects the state capital of Cuiaba and Rondonopolis (known as the capital of agribusiness) in southeastern Mato Grosso. If there were no trucks on the road, the trip between the two cities would take about two and a half hours. Last Thursday we traveled down that highway and the trip took over four and a half hours for 210 kilometers. The number of trucks makes it almost impossible to pass. As bad as it is now, it is only going to get worse as more soybeans are harvested in the state.
Capacity At Port Of Paranagua To Increase By 30%
The largest grain port in Brazil is about to get a little larger. Port officials are inaugurating expansion plans at the Port of Paranagua, located in the state of Parana, that will increase capacity of the port by 30%. Their plan includes the construction of a new pier stretching 436 meters. The existing port, which was opened in the early 1930's, has a main loading pier of 2,820 meters. The expansion plans will also include dredging the port to a depth of 14.5 meters in order to accommodate larger vessels. The project is expected to take 12 months at a cost of R$ 95.7 million. Port officials have said that the new construction will not interfere will existing port activities.