Jan 29, 2010
Construction On BR-163 Suspended Due To Lack Of Funds
Author: Michael Cordonnier/Soybean & Corn Advisor, Inc.
Soybean farmers in Mato Grosso are anxiously awaiting the completion of highway BR-163 that will link the state of Mato Grosso with the Amazon River port city of Santarem. After making good progress during 2008 and 2009, work on the project was suspended last December due to a lack of funds. Brazilian construction officials are confident that the funding will be reinstated and that the entire project will be completed within two years.
Once completed, it is expected that the Port of Santarem will export 10 million tons of Mato Grosso soybeans annually, which is about 12 times more than the present 800,000 tons that moved through the port in 2009. The total capacity of the port is only 2 million tons per year, so a major expansion of the port will need to coincide with completion of the highway.
Highway BR-163 is commonly referred to as the soybean highway because it cuts through the heart of soybean production in central Mato Grosso. Construction of the highway started in the 1970s and progressed northward from the capital, Cuiaba, but the asphalt terminated before reaching the border with the state of Para.
Soybean farmers anticipate savings of at least 30-40% on transportation costs once the soybeans can move northward to the Amazon River instead of south to ports in southern Brazil. The new road will be especially important to producers in far northern Mato Grosso, which is about 700 kilometers from the Amazon River, but 2000 kilometers from the southern ports. Transporting a bushel of soybeans from northern Mato Grosso to the Port of Paranagua is expected to cost as much as US$ 3.50 per bushel or more during the peak of the harvest season in February and March.