April 2, 2023, 7:00 AM
April 2, 2023, 7:00 AM
Last year, according to figures from the Bolivian Institute of Foreign Trade (IBCE), Bolivia not only achieved a recovery in trade (exports and imports) along the Paraguay-Paraná waterway, also set a historical record by exceeding, in value, $1,000 million (especially in exports).
According to the technical manager of the IBCE, María Esther Peña, according to the National Institute of Statistics (INE), during 2022 the commercial flow (shipment and entry of merchandise) by said via fluvial had an ‘important’ recovery, growing 91% in value and 84% in volume.
“In value (especially exports) marked a historical record after exceeding $1,000 million; while the cargo flow was found at the levels registered in 2018,” said Peña.
During 2022, according to the executive, there were seven products that left through the Paraguay-Paraná waterway, of which The largest volume exported corresponds to soybeans and their derivatives (78%), with soybean cake being the main product dispatched, followed by soybeans (30%). Iron ores (12% of the total exported) and urea (9%) were other products that used this fluvial route.
In order to improve the competitiveness of Bolivian foreign trade, Peña believes that the participation and help of the Government is important to boost the flow of trade through this channel. For this, he indicates that one should consecrate a sovereign outlet to the sea for Bolivia with a ‘Bolivian administration’, which will give greater certainty to the logistics chain.
“The confluence of policies and joint efforts between the public and private sectors is necessary that enable the financing of the different projects that make it possible to take advantage of the transportation potential that represents the Paraguay-Paraná waterway,” said Peña.
From the Jennefer port complex, the general manager Bismark Rosales, assured that after two critical years attributed to the Covid pandemic in the first quarter that has elapsed, compared to the same period in 2022, thanks to the favorable navigability conditions they register a growth of 19 at 22% in the load flow. It deduces that the diversion of cargo due to the social and political conflict in Peru had an impact on the rebound, due to the fact that the cargo generators began to make the waterway visible as an alternative for the output of your production.
“We are working with the export and shipping sector and there is the possibility of making a frequency of barge trips to exponentially increase the projected export volume this year“, he pointed.
From the state side, according to the executive manager of the Port Services Administration – Bolivia (ASP-B), Dante Justiniano, the qualification of Puerto Busch is ready to generate a movement of approximately 500,000 tons of merchandise export across the Atlantic Ocean.
From Bolivian Cargo Logistic -agent of the shipping line Panchita-, the manager Hugo Dalence, indicated that the water level in the waterway increased notably in relation to past years, which has allowed management and export growth of 10 to 15% compared to last year on a general scale.
