Maersk projects 30% increase in Brazilian cotton exports

Maersk expects a 30% increase in the handling of Brazilian cotton in 2019 compared to last year. The projection is based on the crop of the product, which had a considerable increase. Production will be 2.8 million tons and the expected export is 1.8 million to 2 million tons. In the last report of the shipowner for the second quarter, cotton was the product with the highest increase in exports. The company’s sales executive, Monica Alves, points to increased production and good quality as the main factors.

With the trade dispute between the United States and China, exports to this market grew significantly - in the last harvest were 455,500 tons for China alone. Currently, 80% of cotton is destined for China, Indonesia, Vietnam, Bangladesh and Turkey. The national market consumes about 700 thousand tons. The cotton expert says that, at the moment, there is no prospect of new markets for the product produced in Brazil. The reason is that 70% of the textile industries are in Asia and Turkey, which are the main markets for Brazilian cotton.

More than 95% of the cotton is exported by Santos, but there are also shipments in other ports such as Paranaguá (PR), Salvador (BA) and Manaus (AM). Monica believes that cotton exporters should increasingly use advanced terminals for their products quickly and efficiently, saving time and reducing the current bottleneck in Santos now that there are fewer terminals capable of receiving and handling cotton in the port.

"We need to arrive at a time when logistics will finally become as easy and fast as buying a book online in Brazil. That’s how logistics is progressing in economies like the US. The closer we get to this model, the faster the Brazilian economy, the cotton industry, businesses as a whole and consumers will benefit, helping to support and increase the supply of jobs," said Monica.