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Ship from Argentina Unloads 50 Thousand Tons of Barley in Paranaguá and Sets New Logistics Record in Paraná.
On March 20, 2026, Portos do Paraná confirmed the largest barley unloading operation ever carried out by a single ship in the state. The bulk carrier Mercury Island, coming from Argentina, unloaded approximately 50 thousand tons of the cereal at berth 202 of the Port of Paranaguá, setting a new historical record for the Paraná terminal. According to the port administration, the operation was completed on March 18 and surpassed the previous mark of 49,448 tons recorded by the ship Akra in January 2026.
The arrival of the vessel drew attention due to the logistical dimension of the cargo and its direct impact on the brewing and agro-industrial chain in Southern Brazil. The unloaded barley will go to the interior of Paraná to supply malt houses, breweries, and sectors related to human food and animal feed.
The operation also reinforced the transformation of the Port of Paranaguá into one of Brazil’s main hubs for handling solid bulk and large-scale industrial cargo.
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Port of Paranaguá Records Largest Barley Operation in Paraná’s History
The record registered by the ship Mercury Island was possible thanks to the gradual increase in the operational capacity of the Port of Paranaguá in recent years. According to Portos do Paraná, continuous investments in dredging and deepening the channel allowed for an increase in the terminal’s operational draft, increasing the cargo capacity of vessels arriving in the state.
In December 2024, the operational draft increased from 12.8 meters to 13.1 meters. Then, in September 2025, a new authorization raised the limit to 13.3 meters. These additional 50 centimeters allowed ships to transport approximately 3.7 thousand extra tons per trip, reducing logistical costs and increasing the port’s operational efficiency.
The direct result appeared precisely in the Mercury Island operation, which managed to unload 50 thousand tons of barley in a single trip, something considered unfeasible a few years ago within the previous depth and port capacity limitations of Paraná.
Argentine Barley Supplies Brewing and Industrial Chain in Southern Brazil
Although Paraná is the largest barley producer in Brazil, internal demand remains high due to the expansion of the brewing and malting sector in the South of the country. According to Portos do Paraná itself, the state remains among the main national destinations for imported barley, mainly from Argentina.
The barley unloaded by the Mercury Island will be mainly destined for malt production, an essential raw material for beer manufacturing. The cereal also has applications in human food and animal feed production.
The logistical integration between Argentine producers and Brazilian industries has created a constant flow of bulk carriers crossing the South Atlantic to supply factories in Southern Brazil.
The operation reinforces how an important part of the Brazilian brewing industry directly depends on an international mechanism involving Argentine agriculture, maritime corridors, and large Brazilian port terminals.
Ship Transported Volume Equivalent to Over 1,600 Loaded Trucks
The scale of the operation becomes even more impressive when converted to land transport. Considering trucks with an average capacity of approximately 30 tons, the 50 thousand tons unloaded by the Mercury Island are equivalent to over 1,600 fully loaded trucks.
This helps explain why ports remain fundamental for large-scale agricultural bulk handling.
The unloading required intense coordination between the port terminal, storage, road transport, and industrial distribution.
As barley is a product sensitive to humidity and preservation conditions, the entire operational process demands rigorous control from unloading to arrival at malt houses and consuming industries.
Each ship of this size functions practically as a floating logistics corridor, connecting Argentine farms directly to the Brazilian industrial park in operations that move tens of thousands of tons at once.
Barley movement grows 34% in Paraná ports
In addition to the operational record, the movement of barley itself in Paraná ports showed significant growth in 2026. According to port administration data, the volume moved in the first two months of the year jumped from 123,404 tons in 2025 to 165,338 tons in 2026, an increase of approximately 34%.
This increase accompanies the expansion of the brewing and malting sector in the state. Data from the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock indicate that Paraná had 174 registered breweries in 2024, a number 3% higher than that recorded in the previous year.
Between 2020 and 2024, the sector invested approximately R$ 5 billion in industrial expansion, input purchases, and productive modernization.
The surge in barley imports shows that the expansion of the Brazilian brewing industry continues to drive gigantic operations within national ports, especially in the terminals of the South of the country.
Dredging investments changed Paranaguá’s logistics capacity
The administration of the Port of Paranaguá directly attributes these records to investments in dredging and deepening the access channel.
The increase in operational draft allows vessels to arrive more heavily loaded at the terminal, increasing logistics efficiency without the proportional need to increase the number of maritime voyages.
According to the CEO of Portos do Paraná, Luiz Fernando Garcia, the consecutive records registered in 2026 were only made possible thanks to the port’s capacity to receive larger and heavier ships. The strategy seeks to transform Paranaguá into an even more competitive terminal in the Brazilian and South American port scenario.
The depth gains began to directly alter the port’s operational scale, allowing operations increasingly closer to major international logistics corridors for agricultural and industrial bulk.
Operation reinforces transformation of Brazilian ports into industrial hubs
In recent years, Brazilian ports have begun to receive increasingly larger volumes of fertilizers, fuels, vehicles, industrial equipment, and agricultural bulk.
Paranaguá appears among the terminals that most increased operational efficiency in this process, consolidating a strategic position within South American maritime trade.
The operation involving Mercury Island showed how terminals ceased to function merely as agricultural export points and also began to act as large industrial platforms for internal supply. The flow of barley from Argentina sustains entire supply chains linked to the production of malt, beer, and food derivatives in Southern Brazil.
The record registered in Paranaguá highlights how enormous logistical operations continue to happen silently in Brazilian ports, moving millions of tons of strategic products that supply national industry daily.
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