111 Donald Trump’s tariff threats are opening up opportunities to sell Brazilian products with US doors shut to anything Made In Brazil. In this scenario, China is more than ever our preferred partner, especially for agricultural commodities, such as soybeans. The combination of record grain harvests taken in quickly and the rise in fuel prices is causing a spike in road freight values. In Mato Grosso state, some routes saw prices rise by 40% last summer on the previous harvest. Brazil is one of the world’s largest agricultural producers but still faces serious logistical problems, with few railroads and waterways, poor quality roads, congested ports, and reduced silo storage capacity. Our storage limit outside ports is estimated at 210 million tons. Given the expected volume of the grain this harvest, there is a shortfall of 115 million tons on farms, at cooperatives and agribusiness companies. According to the United Nations’ Food and Agriculture Organization, countries should be able to store 20% more than they produce, avoiding waste in the event of overproduction, as seen in Brazil this year. With successive record harvests, the storage deficit has been growing in Brazil. In the last 15 years, our grain production has grown at an average rate of 5.3% a year, while storage capacity has increased by only 2.8% per year. This shortfall leads to waste in the harvest, as producers are often forced to leave the grain in the open. That or trucks become mobile silos on the way to the ports, forming huge lines along coastal highways. The solution to this eternal problem for Brazil’s agriculture, which creates logistical chaos in times of record harvests and causes losses for producers and the country overall, is the expansion of credit lines for the construction of silos and warehouses, with less red tape, and investment in the transport infrastructure for agricultural output. We are talking about extending and building roads, waterways, railroads, and ports. In 2024, farms in Brazil held 17% of total static storage capacity, while in the USA it is 65%, in Europe 50%, and in Argentina 40%. But as little is done in terms of new investment, everything suggests we will have more logistical problems this harvest, as happened two years ago, according to data from the National Supply Company. According to this stateowned company, the soybean harvest has already impacted grain transportation prices on the country’s main routes. As a result, the lines of trucks waiting near ports increase export costs by about $30,000 a day on average. This is the penalty charged when a container ship stays in port for longer than agreed in the contract with exporters and the owners of container ships that carry soybeans. All this is to say that our inefficiency will lead to longer lines of trucks heading to Brazilian ports, hampering traffic on the roads and making highways less safe, as well as adding to logistics costs. But thanks to Trump, it still makes sense for Brazilian producers to sell to China, Europe, and other markets outside the USA, which will be reserved for North American producers. Here the oriental philosophy of Yin and Yang is more valid than ever, with every crisis creating an opportunity. Take the next detour; soybeans on their way to China A record harvest will block the roads near ports, further raising the Brazil Cost. Even so, there are opportunities for transport companies and farmers By Jorge Görgen, journalist and consultant who specializes in the Transport and Agribusiness sectors.
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