The city of Paranaguá in the southeastern Brazilian state of Paraná has just inaugurated Brazil’s first public alcohol storage facility. The Paranaguá and Antonina Ports Administration (Appa), an organization in charge of managing maritime storage plants in the state, has invested US$ 7.62 million in the plant.
The complex has a storage capacity of 37,500 cubic meters of alcohol. The structure can manage up to 15 ships per month.
The storage complex in Paraná is comprised of seven tanks, and will be able to offload all of the alcohol stored into ships and then reload the tanks in 48 hours.
The superintendent at the Association of Alcohol and Sugar Producers of the State of Paraná (Alcopar), Adriano da Silva Dias, informs that the state’s entire alcohol production for export will be shipped through the facility.
The structure was built in an area of 32,000 square meters. There are prospects for expansion in the future, as there are still 33,000 square meters available for building new tanks.
There are currently 29 sugar and alcohol plants in the state of Paraná. Of that total, 22 plants produce both sugar and alcohol, and seven are distilleries (which produce only alcohol).
According to data supplied by the Alcopar, in 2006, companies based in the state exported 270 million liters of alcohol. This year, the industry expects to export 450 million liters, a 66.6% increase over 2006.
The planted area of sugar cane also grew in Paraná: this year, there are 512,000 hectares of cane, 13.7% more than in 2006. “Within the next five or six years, we want to reach one million hectares,” stated Dias. The rising global demand for fuel from renewable sources is a powerful driving force to the sector.
