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With the BR do Mar Bill increasingly bringing benefits to cabotage in Brazil, cargo transport between Brazilian ports will be greatly expanded in the coming years and may take on new proportions within the national market
Last Monday (25/04), the Organization of Cooperatives of Paraná (Ocepar) commented on the benefits that BR do Mar has brought and continues to bring to Brazilian ports. And how the Bill has the potential to boost cabotage cargo transport over the next few years in the domestic market, due to the low cost and logistical benefits of the operation.
Cargo transport by cabotage has been growing in Brazil, but it still needs more investments and impulses from the projects developed
Brazil is one of the largest countries in coastal territory and has more than 11 thousand kilometers in this direction alone, but it still cannot take advantage of this dimension to be benefited in the transport of cargo. cabotage, or transport between ports of a country, it is still a very little used and explored modal in Brazil and data from the Ministry of Infrastructure show that only 11% of the goods moved within the country are transported by ships.
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However, despite this low expressiveness, cabotage cargo transport has managed to grow slowly in the national market, mainly in the ports of Paraná, such as Antonina and Paranaguá. Data from the company Portos do Paraná confirm this growth and show that, in 2021, the cabotage navigation grew 19% compared to 2020 and, when compared to 2016, last year's movement was 34% higher, an expansion not expected by the national port sector in relation to the use of this modal in Brazil.
Thus, the Ministry of Infrastructure shows that Brazil is still far below European countries, for example, which have cabotage cargo transport as the main modal for these operations. But, this is a scenario that is changing little by little and that the so-called “Coastage Law” (Law 14.301/2022), known as BR do Mar, is seeking to change. The Bill achieved a series of tax benefits for cabotage and continues to seek even more incentives for the modal to grow in the national market.
BR do Mar has managed to reduce the impasses in cabotage cargo transport in Brazil and is the bet of the port sector for the expansion of the modal
One of the main problems in relation to cabotage in Brazilian ports was the obligation for the service to be provided by ships manufactured within the country, since Brazil never been known for being a country that manufactured many boats. Thus, the Bill now provides for the possibility of chartering ships of other flags, which makes the transport of cargo through this modal more practical and more flexible.
Thus, the technical manager of the Organization of Cooperatives of Paraná (Ocepar), Flávio Turra, commented on how this modal is important for Brazil and stated that “Ports need to be integrated with highways and railways. We are still not used to working that way and to be viable this integration is necessary, because the cargo cannot be stopped at the port waiting to continue its journey to the final destination”.
This is the main objective of the Federal Government and the Ministry of Infrastructure for Brazil with the Bill, since the costs for transporting cargo by cabotage in Brazilian ports are significantly lower and this is the new bet of the port sector national for the coming years.
