A large grains shipping hub located in Rio Grande do Sul is operating normally after torrential rains battered Brazil's southernmost state, the port authority said in a statement on Tuesday.
Heavy rains and flooding have devastated vast areas Rio Grande do Sul state in the past few days, leaving entire towns and grains fields underwater, killing livestock and destroying critical infrastructure.
The Rio Grande port was not affected by the rise in the level of the Laguna dos Patos lagoon, the port authority said.
According to the statement, at around 8 a.m. on Tuesday, the current in the access channel Rio Grande port was ebbing, allowing water to flow at a speed of approximately three knots, the equivalent of 5.55 kilometers per hour.
The tide table indicated a level of 90 cm above normal, the authority noted.
Grain traders based in Brazil exported about 10.4 million metric tons of soybeans from Rio Grande port in 2023, making it the fourth-ranked port in the country for soy shipments, according to shipping data.
Last year, companies also exported about 3.6 million tons of various soy meals from Rio Grande, putting it behind Santos and Paranagua only for this type of product, shipping data show.
(Reuters - Reporting by Roberto Samora and Ana Mano; Writing by Ana Mano, Editing by Franklin Paul)