In September, Brazilian container exports totaled 246,666 TEU (Twenty-foot Equivalent Unit), which represented a drop of 0.85% compared to September 2020, when 248,799 TEU were shipped, and a drop of 0.32% when compared to 2019 (247,463 TEU).
According to Datamar, the shortage in shipping containers remains the main obstacle to the growth of exports. Containers that arrive in Brazil with imported products must be returned quickly to Asia, and often are returned empty, harming exports. Sectors such as coffee, sugar and meat have suffered from a lack of equipment.
In addition to shortage in shipping containers, excessively expensive freight has harmed export and import worldwide.
“In August, we announced that freight from Brazil to South Africa, for example, which normally costs around US$ 2,800 per container, jumped to US$ 7,000. This cost has not stopped growing since then, and now is around US$ 7,600. As for Asia, the increase was 50%. Before the pandemic, freight cost was up to US$ 3,500 and today it is close to US$ 7,000”, says Fernando Rosa, technical logistics supervisor at Garra International.