Terminal may be closed up to two months.

The flood in Santa Catarina, which has left 114 dead and more than 78 thousand homeless, is also causing problems in the economy. According to the secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Trade and Development (MDIC), Welber Barral, exports fell $370 million in November because Itajaí’s seaport problem – which was totally destroyed by the rain. The information was disclosed this Monday (1).

“The seaport of Itajaí is extremely important. It is the second largest container port in the country. It is much more important for exports than for imports. Thorough the port products with higher value are shipped, such as manufacturing,” said Barral.

Due to the damage of the port, Brazil is losing $31 million per day in exports. The Secretary did not provide, however, an estimate for the losses for the month of December.

Government’s data shows that 4% of all Brazilian exports are shipped overseas through the port of Itajaí. According Barral, about 30% of Brazilian exports of meat are made via Itajaí, and 22% of foreign sales of smoke, 26% of exports of furniture, 21% of ceramic products, 32% of exports of compressors and 60% of Brazilian production of apple for the external market.

The Secretary of Foreign Trade also said that the port will be open to work normally in about two months. “There was a process of serious silting the river. It will be necessary do dredging. Between 30 and 60 days, at least 50% of the port will be working again,” said Barral. He pointed out that the government has released $350 million for rebuild the port of Itajaí.

According to the Ministry of Development, about 3,000 trucks are stopped due to the damage at the port of Itajaí. “These trucks will be sent to other ports such as Santos, Paranagua and Sao Francisco do Sul.