Logistics bottlenecks challenge Brazil's record harvest

The line of B-train trucks unloading corn is impressive. With their trailers full, the vehicles congest the area around the Rumo terminal in Rondonópolis , southern Mato Grosso , waiting for the grain to be transferred to trains. The scene epitomizes the bumper harvest : a record harvest, logistical bottlenecks, and the challenge of transportation.

Of the 345 million tons of grain produced in the 2024/25 harvest, the country can only store 63%. The remaining 37% has nowhere to be stored, according to the Brazilian Confederation of Agriculture and Livestock (CNA) . Mato Grosso alone exported 105.6 million tons of corn and soybeans—about 60% of which will be transported by road.

Mato Grosso is far from major ports. Some of the production is transported by road and waterway to ports in the North, while others are transported by truck to the train in Rondonópolis.

For five days, the reporter traveled along BR-163, the state's main transportation route. Of the 655 km between Sinop , in the central-west region, and the Rumo terminal in the south, 380 km are being double-tracked. With daily traffic of 79,000 vehicles—60% of them trucks—according to the concessionaire Nova Rota do Oeste, traffic jams stretch for miles.

Built in the 1970s, the highway still has long stretches of single-lane highway. From Diamantino to Lucas do Rio Verde, it's already doubled, and the second lane is expected to reach 444 km by 2031.

Paraná native Paulo Vattos, a truck driver for 25 years, took eight hours to travel the 400 km between Diamantino and Rondonópolis with 38 tons of corn. Along the way, he paid R$210 in tolls. "I've even taken four days to unload."

As an alternative, Rumo and the state government are building the Mato Grosso State Railway, between Rondonópolis and Lucas do Rio Verde, passing through 16 municipalities and with a branch line to Cuiabá.

The project includes 740 km of track, has already received R$4 billion since 2023, and is expected to receive another R$1 billion. The section between Rondonópolis and the first railway terminal, near BR-070, is expected to operate in 2026 with a capacity of 10 million tons per year.

Aprosoja and CNA defend Ferrogrão, which would connect Sinop (MT) to Miritituba (PA), with 933 km and three terminals, reducing logistics costs by 20% — R$ 8 billion per year — and meeting the future production of 144 million tons in 2034.

The Ministry of Transportation submitted the studies to the National Land Transportation Agency (ANTT) , which will then forward them to the Federal Court of Auditors (TCU) and the auction. The ministry also identifies the 1,708-km Fico-Fiol Corridor as undergoing final adjustments for analysis, but with no operational timeline.