Cargill has inaugurated a pioneering rail-linked route between the Port of Santos and Mato Grosso, integrating weekly shipments of fertilizers and pesticides with return loads of cotton destined for export. The first services commenced in March 2025, reflecting Cargill’s drive to enhance agribusiness efficiencies and sustainability in central Brazil.
Strengthening Logistics and Sustainability
By partnering with Brado Logística, Cargill leverages idle export containers to carry crop inputs inland, cutting empty‐leg movements and slashing freight costs. Rafael Felicissimo, Container Trade Lane Leader at Cargill Brazil, highlights that this configuration “optimizes freight costs, improves logistics, avoids waste, and reduces carbon emissions in transportation”. Marcus Nascimento, Sales Executive for Agricultural Inputs at Brado, adds that the rail‐based multimodal solution delivers “greater predictability, safety and economic efficiency, with a lower environmental impact”.
Brazil’s Fertilizer Import Landscape
Brazil remains heavily reliant on imported fertilizers, recording a historic 44.3 million tonnes of imports in 2024—an 8.3 percent surge over 2023’s 40.9 million tonnes—as domestic production covers only about 15 percent of demand. The Port of Santos alone handled 8.88 million tonnes in 2024, up from 8.56 million tonnes in 2023. Mato Grosso—the primary beneficiary of these shipments—accounted for 21.4 percent of total deliveries (9.77 million tonnes) last year, underlining the state’s pivotal role in Brazil’s grain and oilseed expansion.
Cotton Export Growth and Market Competitors
On the return leg, containers are loaded with Brazilian cotton, which hit a record 12.4 million bales (≈2.75 MMT) in the 2023/24 season, surpassing the United States to claim the world’s top exporter spot for the first time. Brazil’s cotton exports generated USD 5.29 billion in 2024 . Key markets include China, Vietnam, Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Turkey, which together absorb over two‐thirds of shipments. The principal global competitor remains the United States, which exported 11.8 million bales (≈2.62 MMT) in the same period.
Company Profiles: Cargill and Brado Logística
Cargill is a 159-year-old global agribusiness leader operating in 70 countries with over 160,000 employees and USD 160 billion in annual revenues (fiscal 2024). The privately held company specializes in food ingredients, risk management services, and supply-chain logistics, connecting farmers to global markets while championing sustainable practices.
Brado Logística, founded in 2011 and part of Grupo Cosan, is Brazil’s first dedicated intermodal rail-freight operator. It manages over 20 locomotives, 2,400 wagons, and more than 4,600 containers across five multimodal terminals, moving 331,000 TEUs annually and pioneering double-stack services in Latin America.
