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Project will enable transportation of fertilizers from Port of Santos to this central state

08/09/2022


Rumo and Andali, a joint venture between U.S.-based agribusiness cooperative CHS and BRFértil, will officially start operations in a fertilizer terminal on the North-South Railway in Rio Verde, Goiás, on Tuesday. The project will enable the transportation of fertilizers from the Port of Santos, in São Paulo, to Goiás.

The state’s agribusiness is mostly served by trucks now. The railroad is expected to allow moving 60% to 70% of the volumes used in the region.

Freight transportation in this railroad, which Andali had already started in a preliminary way in April, is expected to reach 500,000 tonnes later this year and 800,000 tonnes in 2023, Andali CEO Rafael Vaccari Gonçalves said. The company expects to reach 1.5 million tonnes per year by 2025. “This solution comes to reduce costs and provide more efficiency,” he said.

Besides the terminal, a fertilizer mixing plant was built on the site with a capacity expected to reach 750,000 tonnes next year. The company is investing R$160 million in the project.

Andali already had a terminal in Rondonópolis, Mato Grosso. With the new structure, the executive said, the company’s capacity is expected to more than double and reach 6% of the country’s total volume.

This is also Rumo’s fourth terminal in the so-called Malha Central (Central Network), the concession that operates the central stretch of the North-South Railway. The project consolidates the logistics complex the operator is building in Rio Verde. The company had already built a grain terminal there. Besides this, the company plans to conclude by mid-2023 a new fuel terminal in the city, which is being built in partnership with Dinâmica Terminais de Combustíveis (DTC).

By next year, a new container terminal is likely to start operating in Anápolis, Goiás – a partnership between Porto Seco de Anápolis and Brado, Rumo’s arm for railway container transportation.

Rumo already has plans for new terminals in Malha Central to handle grains and soy meal in the north of Goiás and the south of Tocantins, said Pedro Palma, the company’s chief commercial officer. However, there is still no timetable defined for this next stage of the project.

The construction of the central stretch of the North-South Railway is virtually concluded, the executive said. There is still a short stretch between Palmeiras de Goiás and Ouro Verde de Goiás, which is expected to be delivered by the end of the year.

“We are going according to plan on Malha Central. Rumo is close to reaching a 30% share in the grain market in Goiás,” he said.

In relation to Malha Norte, Mr. Palma said the company is making adjustments for the beginning of construction. Rumo has already started commercial prospecting for the railroad, whose terminals are also likely to follow the model of Malha Central – they will be independent facilities built in partnership with customers.

However, he said these agreements will be signed later. “The advantage, in this case, is that we already operate in Mato Grosso, where we already have good relationships,” he said.

*By Taís Hirata — São Paulo

https://valorinternational.globo.com/