São Paulo – The Port of Santos saw a record throughput in January and February this year. According to the Santos Port Authority (Companhia Docas do Estado de São Paulo), in January and February this year the terminal handled 15.5 million tonnes of cargo, up 15% from January and February 2012. In February alone, throughput reached 7.5 million tonnes, up 4.5% from February 2012.
The port has been dredged, deepened and broadened, and now it is receiving larger ships, which carry higher payloads. Thus, the increased throughput is coupled with a reduction in the number of ships that have docked at the port. In February this year the port received 852 ships, down 9.3% from 939 in February 2012.
Imported products arriving through the Port of Santos amounted to a combined US$ 9.2 billion in January and February 2013. The main products received were automobiles, fertilizers and auto parts. The main exporting countries were China, which accounted for 18.7% of total imports (US$ 1.7 billion), the United States, at 15.5% (US$ 1.4 billion) and Germany, at 10.8% (US$ 998 million).
*Translated by Gabriel Pomerancblum
