The port terminal operator Logistics and Infrastructure Corridor (CLI) is ready to invest almost R$1 billion by the beginning of the next decade to meet the demand that will come from Brazilian agribusiness. Today, the Itaqui (MA) and Santos (SP) terminals operate close to the limit and the estimate is that exports of soybeans, corn and sugar will increase by almost 70 million tons in 10 years.
“We have the feeling all the time, whether in Maranhão or Santos, that we are adding capacity and the market is asking for more”, says Helcio Tokeshi, CEO of CLI. The company, controlled by the private equity (those who buy shares in companies) IG4 e Macquarieserves some of the world’s main agricultural exporters, such as the American ADM e Cargill and the Chinese Cofco. “As tradings They are asking for more volume than we are able to offer.”
With an investment of almost R$1 billion, CLI’s expectation is to reach the capacity to move 25 million tons per year, an increase of 5 million tons in relation to the current supply.
The first investment is already underway: R$565 million to expand the CLI terminal in the port of Santos – an asset that was purchased from Direction em 2022 for R$1.4 billion. Another investment already mapped is estimated at R$400 million, at the Maranhão Grains Terminal (Tegram) in the port of Itaqui. This second contribution, however, depends on the approval of the federal government because it involves the early renewal of the concession for another 25 years for CLI and its other three partners in Tegram (TCN, Viterra, ALZ Grãos). With this renewal, the terminal’s management deadline would increase from 2037 to 2062.
Both Santos and Itaqui are strategic for Brazilian agribusiness sales abroad. While Santos, the largest port in Latin America, is essential for the shipment of sugar from the Center-South States, the largest producing region, the port of Itaqui has become one of the main transport routes for soybeans and corn from Mato Grosso, the leader of national production, and Matopiba (acronym for Masnot, Tocantins, Pithere and Bahia).
CLI’s focus is on the shipment of bulk vegetables – in which cargo is transported without packaging and in large quantities directly in the ship’s trunk. As it is a less complex operation than loading a container ship, the difference lies in agility.
“Bulk is bulk. Overall, what counts in our business, given our strategy, is operational efficiency, doing very, very well and very quickly”, recalls Tokeshi, who was Secretary of Finance of the State of São Paulo (2016-2018) before to disembark at IG4. The executive helped create the CLI in mid-2020, when IG4 took over the CGG company’s terminal on Tegram. CGG was experiencing financial problems and transferred the asset for IG4 to carry out the restructuring of around R$1.2 billion in debt.
Since then, CLI has consolidated itself in the port of Maranhão as an independent operator—one that does not have exclusivity with any specific exporter—, expanding its presence in agriculture with the purchase of 80% of the Rumo terminal in Santos. There is speculation that the company’s controllers are looking for a new partner or the complete sale of the business — CLI does not comment.
In the first half of this year, the company earned R$444.7 million, 13% more than in the same period last year. The volume shipped increased 17%, to 9.1 million tons, reaching a share of 10.4% of everything Brazil exported sugar and grains in the first half of the year.
ESG investing
In addition to investments in expansion, CLI recently announced a R$25 million plan to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions by 2040 and that of its suppliers by 2050. Once the steps are completed, the estimate is that the company will have a reduction equivalent to 62 thousand cars per year, or 5% of the current fleet in the city of Santos.
Denise Chagas, CLI’s ESG director, says the plan will be submitted next year for evaluation by the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi), an international reference in monitoring decarbonization goals.
Tokeshi states that investing in sustainability is not just a social commitment, but a necessity. “For us, ESG is not just a veneer, it is a business strategy,” he says. The executive recalls that his clients also have aggressive goals to reduce carbon emissions and demand that suppliers have a “green” agenda.
The business strategy also includes the objective of having greater diversity in the team of employees in a segment where, traditionally, the workforce tends to be male. The modernization of equipment helps the company achieve its objective: pneumatic tools were incorporated, for example, which make work easier and more accessible to women. “We found a business where there were almost no women in the operational area. We greatly expanded their presence with support from Senai for the vacancies we opened”, says Denise.
