Agrex invests in transshipment station in Tocantins

Due to the country’s logistics needs to decongest the flow of part of the agricultural production via routes and ports in the North, Agrex do Brasil, Mitsubishi Corporation’s subsidiary, decided to invest R$ 25 million for installation of a transshipment railroad terminal in the intermodal patio of Porto Nacional, in Tocantins, a municipality 25 km far from Palmas.

With a static capacity for 90 thousand tons and designed to handle up to 800 thousand tons per year, the terminal will be inaugurated tomorrow. The central strategy  is to flow via the Itaqui Port, in Maranhão, especially soy and corn originated from its own trading and production.

For such, the company’s CEO, Paulo Fachin, asserts that the company will use a North-South Railroad segment which is already in operation and it is located at the side of the terminal in the Tocantins municipality. Agrex Works as a trading, commercializing grains, besides having soy and corn plantations in the States of Maranhão, Tocantins, Piauí and Goiás.

“The company already operates a terminal at the side of North-South in Porto Franco, in Maranhão. This one in Porto Nacional is the first in Tocantins and it will help the firm to foster its activities of originating soy and corn directly with local producers, as well as provide services for reception of grains and railroad expedition “, said Fachin to Valor.

The initial focus is to attend production of approximately 60 farmers in Bahia and in Tocantins, with a forecast to handle 250 thousand tons while using a storage capacity of only 17 thousand tons in 2015. “For this terminal to be competitive, with freight coming from as far as East Mato Grosso, there is need to conclude some investments, in particular TO-500 [state highway]”, he added.

Fachin stated that the intermodal patio in Porto Nacional – controlled by the state-owned Valec, which builds and operates railroad networks in the country – it functions as a dry port and serves for reception operation, processing and embarkation of grains with leave in wagons headed to the Itaqui port. With the start of Agrex terminal, he estimates an increase in the offer of port services in Itaqui and, as a consequence, a drop in prices.

“In this case, there is expectation that the prices for port services may be lower due to the start in operation of the grains terminal “, he pointed out.

In addition to the generated demand by the flow of agricultural products which will be subsequently exported through the North region ports, the patio in Porto Nacional is also currently used to handle fuel. Valec leases terminals at the site for Petrobras Distribuidora and Raizen. The leasing contract with Agrex Brasil, as well as contracts with the other lessees, has a 15-year term.