The Panama Canal is targeting the dry cargo trade between Brazil and China after agreeing a tie-up with Brazil’s Port of Itaqui.
Located in the northeastern region of Brazil, Itaqui is the Brazilian port closest to the Panama Canal and is said to have the infrastructure and connectivity necessary to move these exports to markets in Asia.
With this agreement, the Panama Canal said it looks to promote the use of the panamax locks for grain transits originating in northern Brazil and traveling to markets in Asia.
The agreement will allow the Canal and Itaqui to conduct joint marketing activities and exchange market studies and information on trade flows to support modernization and improvement programs.
“This agreement is very important to enable the handling of grains to Asia through the Canal, providing even more competitiveness to Itaqui and already contemplating the growth of grain handling by the northern arch of Brazil,” said Maranhao Port Administration Company President Ted Lago.
According to the agreement, “both parties would like to cooperate in creating awareness of the benefits that derive from the Panama Canal Expansion and the optimization of the internal transportation that is used to move soybeans and other cargoes from Brazil through the Panama Canal.”
In 2017, Itaqui handled 19.1mt of cargo, becoming an important logistic corridor for the central-western region of Brazil.
The tie-up comes at a time when Brazilian grain exporters are enjoying considerable increases in shipment volumes.
From a Panama Canal traffic standpoint, dry bulk vessels accounted for roughly 22.2% of its total oceangoing commercial transits during the past fiscal year.
