São Paulo – The Cargo Terminal of the São Paulo International Airport (Teca – GRU Airport) in Guarulhos wants to receive more flights of cargo planes. Today, the majority of the cargo that Teca handles arrives or leaves in the baggage compartments of passenger aircraft. Only companies from the Latam (TAM and LAN) and Avianca groups operate cargo flights in the airport.
During Teca’s press conference this Tuesday (30th), the terminal’s commercial manager, Maria Fan, pointed out that the airport can receive more cargo flights because, besides having the infrastructure, it’s in a prime location. “The region in which we are located, São Paulo, is important as destination and origin, as well as the airway grid and the connectivity that this airport has”, she said. However, receiving more cargo flights depends on the Brazilian and international economies.
“We can expand the amount of imported and exported cargo here around 30% to 40%. We are prepared, but this expansion hinges on the economic performance”, said Maria. According to information from GRU Airport, 46% of Brazilian importers and exporters are located within 150 kilometers from the Guarulhos airport.
Maria pointed out that the airport implemented measures to receive more cargo and reduce the time the products stay stored in the terminal until they are shipped in airplanes or distributed in Brazil. In March of 2013, imported cargo would stay, on average, 91 hours. In April of this year, the average time dropped to 71 hours. Part of this time, however, depends on the release of documentation, since 45 hours are spent on red tape.
Other measures to receive more flights and cargo are the expansion of the storage area available and the obtaining of international certificates. Since GRU Airport started to manage the airport, early 2013, the area that was occupied by the bankrupt estate of VarigLog was cleared.
The next goal of GRU Airport is to receive, until the end of this year, the certificate GDP (Good Distribution Practice), which meet the European standards of distribution of pharmaceutical products. “This increases the airport’s reliability, makes the dialogue easier and, as a result, could increase the volume of pharmaceutical products that we receive”, said Maria. Part of the pharmaceutical products is stored in cold chambers of the terminal. Some of them keep the products at below -15º. Others can keep the controlled temperature ranging from 15º to 22º Celsius.
Cargo and destinations
In 2013 and 2014, the airport had cargo handling increases of 1% and 3%, respectively, in a period of decline for the sector and in which the market went down 2% and 3%, respectively. This year, however, Teca’s handling posts a decline of 3% up until May, with the market declining 8%. Until last month, 102,000 tons were handled in the terminal. From this total, 52,000 were imported products and 50,000 were exported ones. In 2013, 250,000 tons were handled there, and last year, 256,000.
The main origins of the products that arrive in the terminal are Europe, with 34% of the total, Asia and Middle East, with 27%, and North America, with 26%. Among the countries, the United States tops the list with 22% of the total exported to the terminal, followed by China, with 14%. Germany, Italy and Mexico complete the list of the five main origins.
Europe also heads the list of destinations of exports with 36% of the total. It is followed by North America, with 29%. Asia and Middle East receive 15% of the products shipped there, the same percentage as South America. Among countries, the five main destinations are the United States, Germany, Mexico, United Kingdom and Holland.
Among the imported products that arrive at Teca are machinery, plastics and rubbers, optical instruments, vehicles and pharmaceuticals. Among the main exported products are fruits and perishables, machinery, cereals, vehicles and pharmaceuticals.
*Translated by Sérgio Kakitani