The government of Pará is considering restricting the entry of Bunge and ADM trucks to the port of Vila do Conde, in Barcarena, in case the companies do not accept to migrate the road flow of grains to the waterway modal.
The concern of the authorities is the significant increase in the fleet of trucks in the municipality after the arrival of the bulk terminals at the port. Protests from the population and a tussle with local authorities may now culminate in the restriction of vehicle circulation only at night – which would bring millionaire financial losses to trading companies in the peak months of harvest flow.
According to the State Department of Transport, Barcarena will receive an average of 800 trucks per day between the months of February and April, when the bulk of soy harvested in the Midwest and in other northern states begins to be released on the market. For this reason, it intends to bring the two trading companies to the table for the signing of a term of commitment in which they would transfer the trucks' cargo to the Capim-Guamá waterway corridor, which runs east of the municipality until it flows into the sea. The expectation of the government of Pará is that the document is finalized this month.
Used to transport general cargo and, until recently, kaolin, Capim-Guamá is seen today as the best option for grains to reach Barcarena. According to the government, the companies would transfer grain from trucks to a river station in the region of Paragominas, about 320 kilometers away from Barcarena, avoiding the clogging of access roads to Vila do Conde.
Another convenience is that significant dredging works would not be necessary – the peak of the harvest coincides with the flood of the river.
When questioned, ADM and Bunge informed, by email, that "they are evaluating the economic feasibility of using the Capim-Guamá waterway to transport grain to the terminals in Barcarena". According to the government, however, they ask for a counterpart to invest in the new logistical modal: ICMS exemption on river freight.
“The distance from the waterway is relatively short, which would not give the companies a significant gain in river freight. So they want an attraction to change the modal”, says Adnan Demarchki, secretary of Development, Energy and Mining. The government does not rule out the possibility of tax breaks (at least for a certain period of time), but says it is not willing to give in further. If there are more private demands, he intends to “use all his power” to force migration to the river.
“The private sector is thinking about microeconomics, but it needs to think about macroeconomics. You can't just see economic gains”, says Kleber Menezes, former director of Companhia Docas do Pará (CDP) and current Secretary of Transport. “They [trading companies] cannot internalize gains and externalize impacts. Truck traffic in Barcarena will be chaos. If the grains do not go to the waterway, we will create so many obstacles that it will be, in fact, expensive to transport them by road”, threatens Menezes.
The idea, he says, is to insert a clause in the term of commitment tying future companies that will settle in Vila do Conde to also opt for the river modal for grain operations. Considered one of the best located ports in Arco Norte, Vila do Conde has attracted the attention of large companies interested in new logistical positions. In 2013/14, the American company Bunge, one of the largest companies in agribusiness, was practically the only company to ship grain through Barcarena.
Despite the slower initial pace of shipments, truck traffic was enough to cause wear to the asphalt on the main access roads to Barcarena – the PA 481 and PA 483 – and on an urban road that crosses the city to the terminal of the company. Residents demonstrated at the door of the multinational and there was pressure from the City Hall for the company to resurface the damaged avenue. Bunge carried out the work.
The company's plans are to carry 80% of the cargo through the Tapajós River, mostly from Mato Grosso. Only 20% will arrive in Barcarena by truck – from areas of origin such as eastern Pará, Maranhão, Piauí and, eventually, even western Bahia.
A lack of environmental licenses last year, however, caused Bunge to ship almost the entire soybean crop destined for Vila do Conde by land. Contrary to expectations, the state government first issued the operating license for the port terminal and, three months later, for the river transshipment station in Miritituba, on the banks of the Tapajós.
Anyway, the problem turned on the yellow light for the Pará authorities. In 2015/16, ADM – jointly with Glencore in Barcarena – will also be operating its terminal. The following harvest will see the debut of Hidrovias do Brasil (a P2 company, a joint venture between Pátria Investimentos and Promon). And there is still a fourth terminal planned for concession in Vila do Conde – the VDC 29 -, whose release was approved last week by the Federal Court of Auditors (TCU). In total, almost 20 million tons of grain will pass through the port per year.
Like Bunge, the companies' intention is to maintain the proportion of 80%-20% of river and land flow. “That means”, says Demarchki, “that when all the grain terminals foreseen are operating at full capacity, 20% will represent 4 million tons of soy and corn arriving by truck in Barcarena. It is this grain that we want to play in Capim-Guamá”.
Source: Price
By: Bettina Barros
