Port terminal lobby groups in Brazil are urging government officials to allow dredging on the Tapajos River, a major waterway for grain exports that cuts through the Amazon rainforest, fearing a severe
Port terminal lobby groups in Brazil are urging government officials to allow dredging on the Tapajos River, a major waterway for grain exports that cuts through the Amazon rainforest, fearing a severe El Niño could leave one of the country's main export routes too shallow for barges.
Global trading firms, such as Bunge, Cargill, and Louis Dreyfus, move roughly 15 million metric tons of grains annually along the Tapajos, industry data shows. Brazil is the world's largest soybean exporter and one of the leading suppliers of corn.
But the Brazilian government has not granted the authorization intended to clear silt from sections of the river, citing technical analysis and consultation with local communities.
With meteorologists forecasting a strong El Niño, a weather pattern associated with droughts in the Amazon, the port terminal sector in Brazil fears a repeat of the transport disruptions and delays last seen in 2023 and 2024 due to low water levels in the Tapajos.
"What's worse is yet to come. We're seeing water levels fall, which is why the alarm has been raised to carry out dredging," Jesualdo Conceicao Silva, head of the Brazilian port terminals lobby ABTP, told Reuters.
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