The main sugar terminal at Brazil's port of Paranagua has received a new shiploader that will speed up the loading of bagged sugar by 60 percent, Marcon Devas, the company which runs the operation, said on Monday. The equipment, which is now being tested, will raise the terminal's capacity to load ships to up to 3,000 bags per hour - or 3.6 tonnes per day - from between 1,000 and 2,500 tonnes currently.
"We calculate the mechanised terminal will give clients an advantage of $7-$10 per tonne of sugar due to its higher efficiency and time reduction in berthing," said Gustavo Daudt, director at Marcon Devas. Queues of ships to load sugar at Brazilian ports reached unprecedented levels this year as exports jumped due to strong demand and Brazil's status as the only major supplier with available stocks.
The long lines at ports, which reached 135 ships in July and are now at around 66 vessels, contributed to a surge in sugar futures, which are currently hovering around 30-year highs in New York. Although local mills say Brazil's sugar terminals are among the world's best, companies have been investing to raise capacity and efficiency. Brazil is the world's largest sugar exporter, accounting for more than half of global shipments.
Top sugar producer Cosan said last week it would invest around $165 million to hike capacity at its terminals in Santos, Brazil's largest sugar port. The shiploader will enable Paranagua to become a deliverable port for the London exchange, said Luis Carlos Paes de Carvalho, president at Marcon, which invested 30 million reais ($17.7 million) in the mechanisation of the terminal. Sugar shipments from Teapar are expected to total 700,000 tonnes in 2010, up from 270,000 tonnes last year. In 2011, they should reach 800,000 tonnes. Part of the increase this year was due to the backlog in Santos, Carvalho said.