Portuguese 
English 
Spanish 
5 min of reading 
0 comments 
Chinese state-owned COFCO invested US$285 million in its own terminal at the Port of Santos. The operation was announced to export Brazilian soybeans and corn directly to Asia. Earthworks are almost complete, and the terminal is expected to become operational between late 2025 and early 2026.
According to a report by the Mega Obras Brasil channel, it is the first time a Chinese state-owned company operates its own terminal at the Port of Santos — the largest in Latin America.
According to the company, the total investment amounts to US$285 million — equivalent to approximately R$1.4 billion at the current exchange rate.
Therefore, the project reorganizes the logistical axis of Brazilian agribusiness.
-
The Heikanes peninsula, in Iceland, has been accumulating magma for 210 straight days — and geologists say it could be the largest reservoir of the current eruptive period.
-
While Brazil has been discussing bullet trains for 16 years, China delivers 5 new high-speed lines in 2026, surpasses 50,000 km of HSR, and moves 1 billion passengers in a single year.
-
The Tianwen 2 probe will land on a near-Earth quasi-satellite asteroid to collect unprecedented samples in 2026 — China’s first mission on a space rock.
-
FUCHS accelerates multi-billion-euro global plan, projects revenue of up to €4.5 billion by 2031, and expands operations in Brazil with a new factory in Sorocaba to expand the lubricants market in Latin America.
According to the channel, the earthworks area is practically ready, and the port structure is expected to receive the first ships of the operation starting in 2026.
For comparison, Santos handled about 175 million tons in 2024 — it is the largest port in the southern hemisphere.
As the portal recently showed, Chinese participation also appears in Angra 3, with Chinese nuclear reactors, and in other strategic Brazilian projects.
Who is COFCO and why is it operating in Santos
COFCO (China Oil & Foodstuffs Corporation) is a Chinese state-owned agribusiness company.
In fact, it is the largest food sector company in China, with a global presence in soybeans, corn, wheat, sugar, and cotton.
Therefore, it buys more than 30% of Brazilian soybeans exported annually.
According to industry records, COFCO has been operating in Brazil since 2014, after acquiring the operations of Dutch Nidera.
Subsequently, the company expanded its local presence with farms, warehouses, river terminals, and stakes in railways.
Similarly, the company’s own terminal in Santos is the missing piece — direct control of the last logistical mile before the ship.
How to build a US$285 million terminal
COFCO’s project in Santos is classified as a private use terminal (TUP) in Santos (TUP).
According to Antaq records, the package includes dredging, earthworks, berthing structures, vertical silos, and long-range conveyor belts.
According to Mega Obras channel, construction progressed on three simultaneous fronts.
Consequently, the expectation is that the terminal’s nominal capacity will exceed 14 million tons per year when fully operational.
For comparison, this is about 8% of everything Santos handles today.
On the other hand, the project had a local impact on road layouts and surrounding traffic volumes.
Why Brazilian soybeans weigh so heavily on the Chinese agenda
Brazil is, in absolute terms, the largest supplier of soybeans to China.
According to data from the Ministry of Agriculture, the country sent about 73 million tons in 2024.
Therefore, any logistical interruption becomes a strategic problem in Beijing.
Consequently, the Chinese strategy in recent years has been to control more links in the chain.
According to the operator, the terminal covers precisely the last link before international shipment.
Similarly, COFCO also invested in river terminals in northern Brazil — Itaqui, Santarém, and Barcarena — to complement the exit via Pecém with the exit via the South Atlantic via Santos.
5,000 port workers and what changes when China takes over a terminal
The port complex directly employs about 5,000 port workers, according to industry unions.
Around the port, the direct and indirect chain exceeds 30,000 jobs in Baixada Santista.
According to the operator, COFCO’s terminal will create between 200 and 400 direct jobs in full operational phase.
On the other hand, unions question the model: a private use terminal means differentiated contracts, a distinct labor regime, and a smaller presence of traditional stevedores.
As the portal’s recent coverage on Northeast communities demanding regulation of wind farms showed, this pattern of tension between foreign investment and local labor regulation is not isolated.
Similarly, in the regulatory sphere, COFCO required authorization from Antaq, the Ministry of Ports and Airports, and the Brazilian Navy.
Why the Port of Santos became a direct route to the Pacific
Previously, most Brazilian soybeans for China exited via the Panama Canal or the Cape of Good Hope.
Subsequently, with the start of operations in Chancay, Peru, a direct route to the Pacific opened up.
According to international analysts, travel time decreases by about 10 days when the operation uses the Peruvian exit via the bi-oceanic railway.
Therefore, Brazilian terminals in Santos, Itaqui, and Pecém now connect to transcontinental corridors.
According to industry records, Chinese investment in South American ports has exceeded US$8 billion in the last five years.
The scale of what China bought in Brazil in a decade
Chinese presence in Brazil scaled in phases:
- 2013-2016: entry into commodities — soybeans, corn, sugar, meat
- 2017-2020: expansion into infrastructure — river terminals and railways
- 2021-2024: stakes in energy distribution, mining, and ports
- 2025-2026: consolidation with its own terminal in Santos and the Bi-oceanic railway
Consequently, COFCO now integrates into an already robust network of Chinese presence in Brazilian agribusiness.
Similarly, Sinochem, State Grid, and Three Gorges operate in other strategic sectors.
What could still delay COFCO’s operation in Santos
On the other hand, some points remain open.
According to industry sources, final environmental licenses and complementary dredgings are still under review.
Furthermore, the full operational schedule depends on the arrival of equipment, partly imported from China itself.
According to recent records, two contractual adjustments between COFCO and the Port Authority of Santos were made in 2025.
Even so, after more than a decade of growing presence, the entry into its own terminal marks the type of consolidation that the Chinese state-owned company had only achieved, until now, in Chinese ports.
Be the first to react!