Brazil's soybean industry and producers are facing rising freight rates road, as measures to combat the coronavirus, such as the closure of roadside restaurants, have led drivers to charge for trips, said the president of the sector association Abiove.
“The freight market is adjusting, as there are truck drivers who don’t want to travel long distances, the price of freight is rising. It has to be moved, the price is really going up, that’s basically what’s happening,” said André Nassar, in an interview with Reuters.
The industry and producer
He said that some farmers have suffered an increase in costs to transport soybeans by truck to the warehouses. However, traders are also facing the problem of transporting soybeans already negotiated with producers.
But the president of the Brazilian Association of Vegetable Oil Industries (Abiove) said that, despite the higher cost, reports from associated companies about a lack of trucks to take the product to the ports are rare.
“It’s not that the truck became a problem, but what happened is that freight went up,” he said, without giving details about the increase in freight costs.
Restaurants and services
He said that the government measure published this Friday, which establishes restaurants and other services, as well as essential services for truck drivers, should help in the flow of Brazil's record soybean harvest. Nassar also said that despite the challenges, Brazil will be able to export the volumes of soybeans demanded.
Essential services include healthcare and intercity, interstate and international passenger transportation, as well as ride-hailing. The decree also mentions the importance of ensuring the transportation of “cargo of any kind that may lead to shortages of goods needed by the population.” The measure determines that traffic restrictions must be based on technical grounds from Anvisa (the Brazilian Health Regulatory Agency).