Port of Santos

The Port of Santos, on Brazil’s southeastern coast near São Paulo, is the busiest port in Latin America by cargo volume and the country’s principal gateway for both containerized and bulk trade.

Agricultural export gateway

Santos is a critical export point for Brazilian soybeans, sugar, and coffee, as well as a major entry point for containerized imports serving the São Paulo metropolitan region, Brazil’s largest industrial and consumer market. Seasonal surges around the soybean harvest regularly strain the port’s bulk terminals and create queuing for berths, a recurring feature of the South American grain trade that chartering desks watch closely.

Geography

The port occupies a natural estuary at the base of the Serra do Mar escarpment, which historically limited the size of vessels the port could accommodate; ongoing dredging and terminal expansion have progressively raised the maximum draft and vessel size the port can handle.