According to a report published Tuesday by Folha in Sao Paulo, a trade imbalance at private ports would reflect dramatic conditions for the local industry. A deficit in the arrival of key inputs will sooner or later result in fewer products manufactured and the vicious cycle would then mean increasingly dwindling export revenues.
The balance of trade at private terminals showed a 14% drop in imports of inputs, Folha noted based on data from an ATP (Association of Private Port Terminals) report which showed that, in 2023, exports by ship totaled US$ 300 billion, a 1.9% increase from the previous year. Today, private ports account for 65% of the country’s foreign sales.
The balance for the period was US$119 billion because there was a 14% reduction in imports which analysts read as proof that Brazil’s industry has stopped buying inputs.
The experts surveyed by Folha find this to be the consequence “of the economy’s low growth forecast.”
According to ATP President Murillo Barbosa, Brazilian port terminals (TUPs) were boosted by exports of sugar (up 43.4%), seeds, oilseeds such as soybeans, as well as iron ore, which reached the US$ 34.6 billion mark in exports, representing growth of 7.2%.
“In the case of ores, the Private Use Terminals were responsible for 86.1% of the movement of this cargo,” said Barbosa. “Porto Sudeste do Brasil recorded an increase of more than 50% in its iron operations.”
Regarding the drop in imports, Barbosa said he believed it stemmed from the decrease in the quantity and average price of mineral fuels, with a 22% reduction in the average price.
The only reason the drop was not greater was because there was a 7.4% increase in the quantity of fertilizers imported, albeit with a drop of more than 40% in their average value.