The result was achieved over 25 years of the terminal’s operations in Paraná, with the meat and frozen food sector being the highlight in cargo exports.
In the last week of August, the company that manages the Paranaguá Containers Terminal (TCP) reached the historic figure of 16 million TEUs (a measure for a 20-foot-long container) handled. The figure includes movements (loading and unloading containers on the vessel) since the year it was founded in 1998. The record was set during the cargo operations on the vessel Cap San Maleas, owned by the shipowner Maersk.
In terms of content transported, the company records cargo by segment. In the first seven months of 2023, the highlight of exports was the meat and frozen food sector (140,508 TEUs), followed by commodities such as wood, paper, cellulose and other agribusiness products (81,391 TEUs). In terms of imports, first place goes to consumer goods and electronics, with 46,274 TEUs handled in the same period, followed by the automotive sector with 44,759 TEUs.
The operations and safety superintendent, Nicolas Wang, celebrated the historic record. “The achievement of this new milestone, especially in the year in which the terminal celebrated its 25th anniversary, validates the excellence of the work carried out by our employees, as well as the importance of the continues investments being made”, said Wang.
One of the terminal’s biggest recent investments is in the reefer area. “The work to increase the number of plugs from 3,572 to 5,126 will consolidate the terminal at the national leadership in the reefer area, with frozen meat being the main export commodity”, explains Wang.
The increase in the number of plugs is part of the latest infrastructure investment package announced by TCP for 2022. R$370 million is being invested in works such as the modernization and expansion of the gate with Trucker’ APPs feature, the installation of an advanced GIS substation, the acquisition of additional 11 RTGs, among others.
In addition to investments in infrastructure, TCP also has an important railroad accessing into terminal, the only one in the south of the country with direct access to the bonded zone. More than 58,355 thousand containers of cargo destined for export arrived at the terminal in the first seven months of the year.
“Of these 16 million TEUs handled throughout our history, 1.16 million were registered in 2022 alone. These figures represent a 619% increase in annual throughput when compared to the foundation year. These results give us confidence that we are heading in the right direction to achieve more results for our customers and for the country’s economy”, concludes Wang.
Progress in animal protein exports
Considered the largest frozen poultry meat export corridor in the world, TCP exported an additional 46,000 containers of the product in the first half of 2023 alone. In the same period, the terminal’s beef exports grew by 86% compared to the first six months of last year, reaching 8,479 containers.
According to Wang, “we export to the main destinations, especially China, which has a high consumption. The investment in the terminal’s reefer area, which is the largest in Brazil, provides operational flexibility for in-line reception and storage, according to the demands of the segment.”
