The importance of railroads in agribusiness

Despite the great evolution of the industrial and commercial sectors in the country in recent years, agribusiness remains the most competitive category in the national economy, being one of the main factors for Brazil's full insertion in the global market. This great relevance is accompanied by the use of railroads in agribusiness. Some figures prove this importance. 

As estimated by the National Supply Company (Conab), Brazil harvested 237.3 million tons of grain in 15 different crops in the 2018/2019 harvest. This mark represents an increase of 9.5 million tons in relation to the previous harvest, which in percentage terms, shows an increase of 4.2%.

With this constant growth, the perspective is that the sector will reach a production of more than 400 million tons by 2035, representing at least 40% of the total value of Brazilian foreign sales. These are just some data that demonstrate the importance of the sector for the Brazilian economy and that can be further enhanced with greater and better use of the railroads. 

So, given the scenario presented so far, do you want to know more about the importance of railroads in agribusiness? So, just read on and know everything about the topic.   

Importance of railroads in agribusiness

As it has been possible to realize until now, the railroads manage to aggregate in several factors when we consider the flow of goods in great quantity, mainly in the need to transport in long distances. Given this scenario, see below the main reasons that make the use of railroads in agribusiness fundamental. 

Greater competitiveness for the sector

One of the main limitations of the development process of Brazilian agribusiness is in the part of cargo transportation, which occurs mainly by road, which, in most cases, ends up making the process more expensive due to the freight charged. In conjunction with this, we see a drop in the ability to meet external demands on an equal footing with the international market.

This deficiency is mainly due to the great distances traveled to transport agricultural commodities, such as soybeans and corn, which are the main raw materials for Brazilian exports. With production centers located in Mato Grosso and Pará, the loads are more than 2,000 km from the main ports in the country, Santos (SP) and Paranaguá (PR), making it difficult to transport through highways, since it is not possible to transport a large amount at once. 

Thus, the use of railroads in agribusiness presents itself, both in the medium and long term, as a facilitator and integrator of the flow of Brazilian agricultural production. The Brazil Project, for example, conceived by the Engineering Institute, has sought to put in place some measures that assist in this development. To learn more about the institute's proposal, just click here. 

Decreased logistical bottleneck 

What is the use of producing agricultural commodities with high quality and at the right time if it will not be possible to distribute this cargo quickly and efficiently? This is perhaps the biggest issue in Brazilian agribusiness, crop yields are getting better, but road transport ends up not keeping up with this growth, being a logistical model that demands more time and more risks for farmers. 

In addition, when they are often held hostage by road transport, farmers end up having even greater expenses to ensure the maintenance of a fleet of trucks on roads with poor quality asphalt, which no longer occurs on the railroads. 

As a result, transportation through the railroad network is an excellent outlet for farmers who wish to be more competitive with their production, both in the domestic and international markets.  

Low maintenance cost 

A third advantage of using railroads in Brazilian agribusiness is the fact that this mode has a lower maintenance cost in relation to highways, for example. This is because the materials used in the construction of the lines are highly resistant due to the degree of demand during their operation, as well as the wagons and locomotives themselves.

This factor ends up directly affecting transportation expenses as well. A survey carried out by the logistics consulting company Ilos in 2013 already showed this difference. While the cost of transporting a thousand tons of cargo by the Brazilian railroad was R $ 43 per kilometer, on the highways this value jumped to R $ 259, that is, six times higher.

Even so, it is necessary to mention and make it clear that the cost of implementing a railroad is high, being higher in this case compared to the highways. 

Greater transport safety

While Brazilian highways present more cases of violence and theft day after day, this is no longer a reality to be considered when dealing with the use of railroads for transportation. Railways have a much lower rate of cargo theft and accidents.

In large part, the possible accidents that could happen on the railroad network, such as derailment and tipping, for example, are avoided by weighing the wagons before transportation. This is only possible thanks to high-precision railroad scales, such as those offered by Massa Pesagem e Automação Industrial. 

A market leader in the Dynamic Railway Scales (BFD) sector, Massa has over 15 years of expertise in the railroad sector, adding quality and reliability to transport by rail. To learn more about the company and the solutions offered, just click here. 

Less polluting

Last but not least, the increased use of railroads in agribusiness also generates a reduction in the release of polluting gases into the atmosphere, which is also of great value when it comes to agricultural production. Since only one locomotive is needed to be able to transport several freight wagons, pollution is considerably reduced when compared to transporting the same cargo on the highways, which would require a large number of trucks.  

Conclusion

In general, increasing the use of railroads in agribusiness is of great importance, especially when considering a country of continental proportions such as Brazil. Did you like this content? To have access to more articles on this and other subjects involving the railroad sector, just click here and access our blog.