PORT OF PARANAGUÁ, BRAZIL — The Port of Paranaguá said on Jan. 23 that it is loading its first ship of soybeans. The bulk ship Tian Song Feng, coming from India, will load 61,700 tonnes of soybeans bound for Thailand.

The ship entered the port on Jan. 19. The vessel docked in the cradle 212 to ship 43,700 tonnes of soybeans in the Cargill terminal and another 18,000 tonnes of soybeans in the terminal of the Cooperative Cotriguaçu.

"As was already planned, soy is beginning to arrive in Paranaguá. The field is still reaping, and we are preparing for that stream that from now on, gets more intense," said the president of Administration of Paranaguá and Antonina Ports, Luiz Henrique Dividino.

Until the end of January, the port will receive a total of 27 ships to carry almost 1 million tonnes of soybeans, corn, bran and wheat.

This year, the port will start up two new cradle chargers. The new shiploaders will operate with larger vessels, reducing loading time and the cost of transportation. The shiploaders are two tonnes per hour faster than the previous equipment.

"Besides working with greater operational reliability, fewer stops for maintenance, and greater flexibility in operational movements, the equipment allows a reduction in interruptions," said Dividino.

According to the latest forecast of the Department of Rural Ministry of Agriculture Economics and Supply, released in December, Paraná should harvest in 2015, about 22.15 million tonnes of soybeans, corn and beans.

Soybeans are the most representative product of the trade balance of the port. In 2014, of $16.6 billion for the total exported via Paranagua, $3.8 billion came from soybean trading with other countries, representing 22.75% of total exports. China is still the main destination for boats.