Ports · 27 August 2026

Paranaguá sugar surge tightens loading windows through October

A special sugar operation at the Port of Paranaguá loaded roughly 127,000 tonnes in a single week — three bagged-sugar vessels of about 27 kt each plus a fourth carrying 46.2 kt of bulk. Three more vessels are already waiting to berth. Operations at this pace are expected to continue through the end of October. For anyone with grain calling at Paranaguá in Q4, the message is direct: sugar is going to compete with soy and corn for slots.

Tonnes loaded in the special operation

~127,000 t

Vessels in the operation

3 bagged + 1 bulk

Additional vessels waiting to berth

3

Expected duration of peak operations

Through end October

Paranaguá's share of Brazilian sugar exports

~20%

Portos do Paraná 2025 total exports

46.06 Mt

Sugar's share of that

~15% (6.74 Mt)

Bagged sugar exports, H1 2026 vs. H1 2025

+18% (380.8 kt)

Why this is happening

India — the world's second-largest sugar exporter — suspended sugar exports until the end of September to protect domestic supply after a poor cane season. Brazilian sugar, at roughly 25% of the international market, absorbed the redirection almost automatically. Paranaguá, as the country's second-largest sugar port, absorbed a disproportionate share of the loading effort.

The consequence, for the grain side of the port, is that terminal capacity is being consumed by an unusually heavy sugar campaign at exactly the moment the second-crop corn harvest and Q4 soy programme are looking for berths. Historically Portos do Paraná sees solid-bulk volume ramp up from July onward, with soybean, soymeal and corn dominating. This year that pattern is running into sugar.

Fontana's read

Buyers calling Paranaguá for grain in October or November should book windows now, not close to loading. Alternate routing through Santos, Itaqui or Barcarena is worth pricing — for MATOPIBA-sourced grain the northern-arc ports frequently save 1,500 km of inland freight anyway. We are quoting both routes and can offer laycan flexibility on request.

On sugar itself: not our commodity — we trade soybean and corn. But the port picture matters to everyone loading in southern Brazil, so we are watching.

What we're watching next

• Whether India's export suspension is extended past September.
• How Q4 grain line-ups at Paranaguá develop as the peak sugar operations wind down.
• Container export growth at Paranaguá (+10% in H1 2026) — a signal that Portos do Paraná is investing in throughput more broadly.