Brazil’s grain landscape is changing, as a new highway allows Bunge and Cargill to more easily export grain through northern ports.
The so-called BR-163 connecting Brazil’s soy belt to two key river ports will boost grain exports by some 3 million tonnes next year. At one of those northern ports is a new terminal owned by global trader Bunge. At another is a decade-old facility run by rival Cargill, which is angling to quadruple exports through the area in the coming years.
Both look set to face even more competition as other companies make plans to build terminals across the sprawling northern waterways, using a mix of road and barge logistics to get Brazil’s expanding harvests to market.