The Brazilian ports broke a record of cargo handling in 2024, with a total of 1.32 billion tons. The figures were presented by the federal government at an event at the National Waterway Transport Agency (Antaq).
Despite mixed numbers between the different categories of terminals and loads, the final balance was 1.18% above the volume verified in 2023.
Public ports registered 474.38 million tons, an increase of 5.13% compared to the previous year.
Among these, the port of Santos, in São Paulo, stood out with the largest movement, reaching 138.69 million tons, growth of 2.05%. The port of Salvador, in Bahia, presented the highest percentage growth, with an increase of 41.18% compared to 2023, totaling 6.60 million tons.
“Growth in public ports shows the work that has been done by the port authorities,” said Port and Airports Minister Silvio Costa Filho.
He promised government commitment to maintain the conditions of advancement of the sector. “Create more and more legal certainty for those who want to undertake,” he said.
Costa Filho said that, alongside Antaq and the Federal Court of Audit (TCU), seeks to accelerate the concession and lease portfolio. Authorized terminals experienced mild retraction, moving 845.98 million tons, a 0.91% reduction compared to the previous period.
In the segment, the Ponta da Madeira maritime terminal in Maranhão was the positive highlight, with 175.78 million busy tons, an increase of 5.68%.
Regarding the type of navigation, long -haul transport accounted for 948.17 million tons, growth of 2.29%. Cabotage, which is navigation between Brazilian ports, saw an increase of 0.92%, totaling 293.56 million tons. Inner navigation, in internal watercourses such as rivers, had a reduction of 9.58%, moving 75.93 million tons.
Regarding the type of load, solid bulk transport was dropped of 0.25%, with 788.50 million tons, while the liquid bulk decreased 3.78%, totaling 313.10 million tons. Already the contained cargo, experienced an increase of 20%, reaching 153.33 million tons.
Among the highlighted loads, the wheat led with an increase of 39.51%, totaling 9.03 million tons. Petroleum gas increased by 35.31%, with 5.29 million tons busy. Fuels, oils and minerals registered an increase of 23.63%, totaling 4.06 million tons.
