Port infrastructure bottlenecks prevent Brazil from shipping 356.3 thousand bags of coffee in May

According to updated data from the Brazilian Coffee Exporters Council (Cecafé) and its members, the sector was unable to ship 356,322 60-kg bags of the product — equivalent to 1,080 containers — in May 2025, resulting in a loss of R$ 2.686 million for companies due to unforeseen costs with additional storage, detentions, pre-stacking, and early gate openings.

From June 2024 — when the entity began this survey — until the end of May, Brazilian coffee exporters accumulated losses of R$ 75.919 million due to these extra costs caused by outdated infrastructure in the country’s main coffee export ports.

The inability to ship this volume of coffee also prevented the country from receiving US$ 154.63 million, or R$ 876.28 million, in foreign exchange revenue from its trade transactions in May alone, considering the average Free on-board (FOB) export price of US$ 433.97 per bag (green coffee) and the average dollar exchange rate of R$ 5.6668 in the previous month.
Although there has been a reduction in the volume of cargo stuck at ports awaiting shipment compared to previous months, Cecafé’s technical director, Eduardo Heron, recalls that the situation remains critical.

“This decrease in the volume that was stored, waiting for ships to load, reflects the end of Brazil’s coffee off-season, and this is very concerning because the new crop is starting to arrive now in June and July, and we will certainly see new and increasing shipment delays and losses for exporters, with yards full, as the port infrastructure remains the same while container-demanding cargoes such as cotton, sugar, and coffee continue to grow,” he explains.

In this scenario, he emphasizes that it is increasingly crucial to adopt measures to improve logistical bottlenecks and ensure that ports have better infrastructure, enabling them to keep pace with the evolution of Brazilian agribusiness.

“The investments announced so far, such as the Tecon Santos 10 auction, the concession of the maritime access channel to the port, the Santos-Guarujá tunnel, and the third descent lane on the Anchieta Highway to the Baixada Santista, are very important for Brazilian foreign trade. However, they will take approximately five years to be completed — under normal conditions. Despite this, we saw ANTAQ’s board decision to restrict the participation of interested parties in the Tecon Santos 10 auction, including shipowners, ignoring Scenario 3 contained in Technical Note 51, from the Agency itself, increasing the potential for legal disputes in the terminal’s negotiation, which makes no sense and will bring even more losses for cargoes due to lack of adequate capacity,” he explains.

Delay overview
According to the Detention Zero (DTZ) Bulletin, developed by the startup ElloX Digital in partnership with Cecafé, in May 2025, 56% of the ships, or 169 out of a total of 300 vessels, experienced delays or schedule changes at Brazil’s main ports.

The Port of Santos, which accounted for 80.8% of coffee shipments between January and May this year, recorded a 64% rate of delays or schedule changes, involving 113 of the 177 container ships. The longest waiting time last month was 28 days at the Santos terminal.

Also, last month, only 10% of shipping procedures had more than four days of open gates at the Santos terminal. Another 62% had between three and four days, and 28% had less than two days.
The Rio de Janeiro port complex, the second-largest exporter of Brazilian coffee, with a 14.9% share of shipments in the first five months of 2025, experienced a delay rate of 69% last month, with the most extended interval being 16 days between the first and last deadlines. This percentage indicates that 38 of the 55 ships designated for product shipments had their schedules changed.

Still, between January and May this year, 18% of export procedures had a gate opening period longer than four days at ports in Rio; 56% had between three and four days, and 25% had less than two days.

Source: Portos e Navios

Sharing is caring!