The Covid-19 pandemic brought out a series of problems to different sectors and the international food trade encountered barriers that had never been foreseen. Congestion at ports, fault of containers and high freight costs were just some of the main problems for logistics.
According to the National Confederation of Brazilian Industry, at the beginning of the pandemic, the forecast was for a retraction in trade, with its re-establishment only towards the end of this sanitary problem period. Such forecast was confirmed only for the first six months of 2020 and, with the recovery of the economy in different countries as of July, there was a very strong resumption of international food negotiations, at levels above the projection and logistical shipowners and port terminal capacities.
With an increase in demand, there was an increase in the cost of transporting containers for all routes. “Before the pandemic, freights from Brazil to South Africa, for example, which cost an average of US$ 2,800 per container, jumped to prices close to US$ 7,000”, informs Fernando Rosa, technical supervisor of logistics at Garra International.
Reefer and tank container, responsible for meat shipments, had little increase throughout 2020, but in the first six months of this year, they up 6.5% and 40%, respectively, year-on-year.