The expansion of Brazilian agribusiness exposed the country's difficulties in infrastructure. This was the conclusion of the lecture “Logistic bottlenecks and the new agricultural export corridor in the north of the country”, given by the Economics manager at Abiove (Brazilian Association of Vegetable Oil Industries), Daniel Furlan Amaral.
The event took place this Wednesday (27), during the Export Forum promoted by Folha.
Two decades ago, agricultural production was concentrated within a radius of one thousand kilometers from the ports of Santos and Paranaguá.
Today, the geography has expanded to the Midwest and the savannah of the Northeast. This increase in productivity, however, has not translated into greater competitiveness, since the capacity to transport grain is limited.
Furlan Amaral revealed that, in Brazil, 65% of grain transport is done on highways. A reality very different from the North American one, where roads correspond to only 20% of the total. There, waterways and railroads are the alternative most used by producers.
"It could not be otherwise. This is the best way to lower costs and increase competitiveness”, stated the Abiove manager.
COSTS
Costs increase even more at harvest time. Furlan Amaral indicates that the price of the commodity represents a third of the total value for those who produce in remote regions, such as the Midwest.
“Whoever produces in Paraná spends US$ 35. In Mato Grosso, this value reaches US$ 145”, he said.
In the United States, transport to a region of 2 thousand kilometers by waterway has an average price of US$ 20. For trains, the value is around US$ 40.
“The importer buys depending on the price, the difference in quality and delivery capacity. We've had cases of order cancellations, and that can't happen. We need the country to pass security, with more investments in logistics”, said Furlan Amaral.
Source: Folha de S. Paulo
