Suape and agribusiness
Suape and agribusiness
Suape is always on the cutting edge. We have always been ahead of our time, consolidating our position as one of the most important economic development projects in Brazil. The success of our industrial port complex involves innovation, resilience, sustainability, large-scale investment, and a determination to keep moving forwards. This is clear to see today, as Suape now prepares to resume its position as a major exporter and importer of fruit and grain.
Fruit Attraction is the first event of its kind in Brazil and constitutes a significant milestone for the country. Suape will be part of this major agricultural logistics event, underlining its national and international potential and signaling that it is on track towards achieving this goal.
We understand that Brazil is a major agricultural power and are aware of the important role we play in ensuring food security around the world. We are the largest food crop producer in Latin America and the third largest in the world, with 40 million tons of produce harvested each year.
Beyond mere statistics, we are also aware of the enormous responsibility we bear in relation to the population of the planet. Suape is eager to address and share this challenge.
We are a national leader in cabotage and the largest vehicles hub in the Northeast region. Suape occupies a strategic geographical location and is considered one of the six most important public ports in Brazil. We can thus certainly make a difference in this outstandingly important economic niche.
Structural projects are already fully underway. These are either due shortly to be concluded or in an advanced stage of negotiation. Our port in Pernambuco is thus fully prepared to transport Brazil’s agribusiness products in the most efficient and competitive manner possible.
Suape is therefore capable of playing a highly strategic role in advancing business in this sector.
We expect huge returns on investment in road infrastructure in Pernambuco, and in the creation of a new State railroad, known as the Transnordestina. Rail transport is included in the Federal Government’s Accelerated Growth Plan (PAC). The Suape branch line, which is one of the Pernambuco State Government’s top priorities, will run all the way from the Pernambuco coast to the Sertão region deep inland.
Whether by road, or, in the years to come, by rail, our aim is to reach out to new markets, such as the grain-producing region straddling the States of Maranhão, Tocantins, Piauí, and Bahia, known as MATOPIBA, and the prosperous fruit-producing region in Pernambuco’s São Francisco Valley area.
The work we are doing, however, is not restricted to transport infrastructure and, in this, we are both following tradition and looking forward to the future.
Investment underway in modernization of the port, along with the arrival of a new container terminal for one major international player, will ensure that our infrastructure is even more advanced and our tariffs even more competitive. The first phase of this alone envisages a total investment of R$1.6 billion.
Work on expansion of Quays 6 and 7 of our inner port to contain 700 meters of quayside is expected to begin in 2025. And, as a result of this expansion, we are now also leasing out areas on the perimeter of the port.
With this investment and other projects, Suape expects to double the quantity of general cargo it handles in the coming decade.
Significant interventions that have already been completed include the dredging of the outer port to increase its depth from 16 to 20 meters. We also aim, by mid-2025, to have dredged the inner port to a depth of 16.2 meters.
These dredging operations alone involve investment of R$ 360 million and are expected take Suape’s port infrastructure to a whole new level of excellence. This infrastructure will enable the port to receive even larger APL-type ships of up to 366 meters in length.
These giants of the sea will now be able to come and go at Suape carrying their maximum capacity of freight.
Our business and our mission involve leading the way forward for development, in the various senses of this word. We are thus confident and excited about the future. With the help of all those involved in agribusiness in Brazil, the countdown towards yet another major economic achievement for the country is already underway.