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August 1, 2001
Brazil Infrastructure:
Summary:
Northern and Center-West Brazil contain a vast area, similar
in size to the Middle-West United States.(Fig.
1) Much of this vast area is Cerrado (savannah) and much of
it is dry forest which receives seasonal rainfall. Expansion of
agriculture into this area has long been considered a
possibility, but development was long delayed by a number of
problems. Agronomists and soil scientists have learned to
overcome soil infertility by the addition of lime, macro-and micro-nutrients; and plant breeders have
developed varieties of soybeans and other crops that are suitable
for the tropical environment. The last hurdle, the lack of economical
transportation in the expansion area. is being overcome by a
variety of infrastructure initiatives.
Eight Transportation Corridors:
The Ministry of Transportation conducted a study,
"Corredores Estrategicos de Desenvolvimento," completed
in 1999, which details eight transportation corridors (Fig. 2) and suggests strategies for
developing those transportation corridors. Some of the proposed projects are
quite long term, but some are currently underway, aiding agricultural
expansion. The study, in order to predict future cargo, projected
a potential Brazil harvested area for soybeans of 56.0 million
hectares, up from 13.9 million in 2000/01. The 56.0 million
figure was considered conservative by ministry officials at the
time.
The Extreme-West Corridor is based on the Madeira River. A joint venture, between Maggi Group (a private Brazilian company), the state of Amazonas and Petrogras, developed a loading facility at Porto Velho in western Rondonia and a floating port at Itacoatiara on the Amazon River. Since the joint venture firm, Hermasa - Navegacao da Amazonia S.A. began its operations in 1996/97, it has increased volume on this route to about 1.1 million tons of soybeans in 2001. A fleet of barges transport the soybeans down the Madeira River and they are transferred to ocean going vessels of up to 80,000 tons at Itacoatiara. The current system is nearing capacity, estimated at 1.4 million tons, but no further expansion of this route is planned, because competition from other transportation routes is foreseen.
The North Corridor would develop the new agricultural frontier in Roraima, which has approximately 4 million hectares of Cerrado, approximately 2 million of which could be developed for row crops. Located north of the equator, its rainy season would correspond approximately with the U.S. soybean production cycle (opposite that of most of Brazil). Currently, only about 2,500 hectares are under production. Output from Roraima could be shipped north by roadway BR174 into Venezuela, or south on the Branco and Negro Rivers to the Amazon where it could share port facilities with soybeans coming from the Center-West.
The Northwest Corridor is based around roadway BR163 and the Tapajos-Teles Pires waterway. BR163 runs north from Cuiaba, the capital of Mato Grosso to Santarem on the Amazon River, a distance of 1,700 kilometers. Funding was recently approved by the Federal Government to pave the last section of road in northern Mato Grosso to the Para border. However, when that is complete, another 900 kilometers will remain unpaved from the Mato Grosso-Para border to Santarem.
If developed, the Tapajos-Teles Pires waterway would use barges and pushers, as is being done on the Madeira River, to ship soybeans and fertilizer between Alta Floresta in northern Mato Grosso and Santarem. Development is now being blocked by environmental concerns.
The Center-North Corridor is based around highway BR153, the Tocantins-Araguaia Waterway, and the North-South Railway. BR153 runs north-south through Tocantins and Goias, traveling just west of Brasilia. In the north it connects with BR010 which goes to the port of Sao Luis (Fig. 3) on the Atlantic Ocean. However, a 200 kilometer segment in the northern area to Maraba on the Araguaia River remains unpaved. Upgrading BR153 is proposed.
The Tocantins-Araguaia Waterway, if developed, would connect eastern Mato Grosso, Tocantins, Goias, western Maranhao, and eastern Para to the port of Belem and the Atlantic Ocean. Environmental concerns arising from the proposed construction of a system of locks are preventing the use of this waterway to Belem, but transfer mechanisms have been put in place to move soybeans from the Araguaia River via the Carajas railway to the Atlantic port of Sao Luis, Maranhao. Initial shipments on this multi-modal route were scheduled for April 2001.
The North-South railway is being constructed to run from Anapolis in southern Goias to Acailandia in Maranhao, connecting to already existing lines. With support from the state of Maranhao, the line has already been built from Acailandia to Estreito. This has decreased the cost of shipping soybeans from Balsas in Southern Maranhao to Sao Luis, from US$20.00/ton to US$18/ton. The Federal Government is currently building the rail bridge across the Tocantins River at Estreito (Fig. 4) (Fig5) into the state of Tocantins. The state of Tocantins has put up money to extend the line southward from the bridge for an unknown distance. The Federal Government would like private companies to extend the line southward to Anapolis in Goias and to Brasilia over a period of time. The rail line being extended from the north is 1.6 meter gauge, while the project calls for extending 1 meter gauge line north from Anapolis. When the two lines meet, plans call for setting up a transfer point to shift cargo from one gauge to the other. The location of this transfer point is not yet determined. Developing the Center-North Corridor would greatly facilitate shipping soybeans and other commodities from much of the eastern Cerrado (savanna) to the Atlantic Ocean, and would facilitate importing fertilizer.
The Northeast Corridor is based on the Paranaiba waterway and the Sao Francisco River. The Paranaiba waterway would connect southern Piaui to the city of Terasina where soybeans could be transferred to rail and shipped to the Atlantic at Fortaleza. Currently, there are not many soybeans grown near the Paranaiba waterway, but two large plateaus in southern Piaui contain approximately 3 million hectares of Cerrado which could easily be developed for row crop cultivation. The Sao Francisco River has been dammed into a 1400 kilometer long waterway in the northeastern part of the country. Development of the river, the port of Portalina, and connecting railroads will likely not have a great effect on agricultural expansion prospects.
The East-Central Corridor is an assortment of roadway, railway, and port projects in East-Central Brazil which have limited importance to the agricultural expansion areas of Brazil (Fig. 6).
The Southeast Corridor is focused on transportation routes which feed Sao Paulo and Rio de Janiero, but includes the Ferronorte Rail System and the Tiete-Parana Waterway. The Ferronorte Rail System is being built by private funds. In ten years, when the line has reached Cuiaba, and business is built up, officials predict the line will carry 17 million tons of cargo per year, and soybeans will be able to travel by rail from Cuiaba over 1,700 kilometers to the Port of Santos for export. The project includes continuing the railway westward to Porto Velho, Rondonia and northward to Santarem, Para. Currently the rail line has been built as far west as Alto Taquari in southeastern Matto Grosso. Officials at the Ministry of Transportation forecast the line will reach Rondonopolis in 2003, and Cuiaba in 2005. The current line has a segment causing a bottleneck preventing unit trains from passing. When this segment is upgraded it will be possible to send unit trains of 120 cars, which can carry 80 tons each.
The Tiete-Parana Waterway has the potential to run from southern Goias to a point west of the city of Sao Paulo. Cargo on this route could then be transferred to rail and shipped to the port of Santos. Currently, the Tiete River part of the system is in use. There is also potential to use the Parana River down to the Itaipu Dam near Foz do Iguacu, Parana. Theoretically it would be possible to build locks around the Itaipu Dam and ship soybeans further down river to Argentina and Uruguay, but Brazil may choose to transfer soybeans to rail near Foz do Iguacu and ship them across the state of Parana to the port of Paranagua on the Atlantic Ocean for export.
The Mercosul Corridor is based on a number of routes in southern Brazil which connect Paraguay, Uruguay, and Argentina to Brazil’s southern Atlantic coast. Upgrades along existing rail lines across Parana to the port of Paranaqua to improve efficiency are proposed. Improvements to capacity and efficiency to various southern Brazilian ports on the Atlantic are helping the Center-West expansion area because Paranaqua and other ports are important export points for Center-West soybeans.
While traveling in Brazil's agricultural expansion area in February, PECAD analysts observed that upgrades to various highways were taking place, and paved roads, though riddled with potholes, were in better repair than had been expected. BR020 from Brasilia, 550 kilometers to Luis Eduardo Magalhaes in western Bahia was easily traveled by the small rental cars that were being used.
BR010 and BR230, 380 kilometers from Imperatriz to Balsas in southern Maranhao had stretches of new pavement. Other stretches with older pavement had many potholes (one of which caused a flat tire and a bent wheel rim (Fig. 7)), but repair crews were out working. Some previous repairs had been made by filling potholes with packed dirt, but new repairs were being made with asphalt. Heavy rains the day before PECAD analysts arrived had washed out the shoulder and part of one driving lane in several places, but work crews has cordoned off the damaged areas and were surveying for repairs.
BR163 from Rondonopolis, 212 kilometers to Cuiaba in Mato Grosso was in fair condition and was easily traveled (Fig. 8). This despite heavy truck traffic which was transporting new crop soybeans from northern Mato Grosso. BR163 north from Cuiaba, 160 kilometers to Posto Sao Mateus had numerous pot holes, but this did not stop traffic from exceeding speeds of 100 kilometers per hour. BR163 from Sao Mateus, 560 kilometers north toward Alta Floresta was in excellent condition with few road obstructions.
Transporting soybeans in Brazil by truck (Fig. 9), though not as efficient as transporting by rail or barge, is still quite efficient for road transportation (Fig. 10). A new double box truck trailer has been in use now for 3 years and is becoming widely used. A truck rig with this double box trailer has 26 wheels (Fig. 11) and can carry 39 tons of soybeans legally, a great improvement from the traditional single 27 ton straight bed trailer (Fig. 12).
For more information on the transportation infrastructure contact: Paul Provance at (202)720-0882, or by e:mail at provance@fas.usda.gov.
For more information on Brazilian agriculture contact: Michael Shean
at (202)720-7366, or by e:mail at shean@fas.usda.gov.
