In this article, we have provided a brief introduction to the most important ports serving the container shipping industry in South America

2. A look at the top ports in Latin America
While discussing the container shipping industry, we often tend to overlook the
ports of South America. The reason behind this is that none of the Latin American
ports make it to the list of the top 20 ports in the world. Nevertheless, trade volume
in this region has enormously expanded over the last decade and the countries in
this region rely heavily on container shipping to develop and sustain their
economies. Additionally, the Panama Canal connecting the Pacific and the Atlantic
Ocean also lies in Latin America. Moreover, with the advent of digitization and the
ongoing globalization, Latin American countries now more than ever are seeking
to become a part of the global economy. Keep reading this article to get a brief
introduction to the largest ports in South America.

3. Important ports serving the container shipping industry in Latin
America
● Port of Itaqui, Brazil
Lying on the San Luis Island with a dock measuring 1,616 m in length, the
port of Itaqui in Brazil is one of the largest and busiest ports in South America.
It handles around 146 million tonnes of cargo on a yearly basis. Some of the
major items exported from this port consist of alcohol, refined edible oils,
manganese ores, and aluminum. The important items imported to this port are
bulk fertilizers, wheat, rice, coal, limestone, LPG, petroleum products, etc.

4. The port comes with a 7,500 sq m warehouse, a 3,000 sq m storage yard for
packed cargo and four dockyards measuring 42,000 sq m. Additionally, the Itaqui
Port comes with two private terminals- the Alumar terminal and the Ponta de
Madeira terminal. Furthermore, the port authorities are currently working on an
expansion project that will create additional storage space, a huge parking area,
rail sliding, and a general cargo terminal.

5. ● Port of Callao, Peru
The top commercial port in Peru, the Port of Callau sprawls on the central coast in the
Peruvian capital Lima. This port forms a part of the Lima-Callau metropolitan area that
comprises an industrial area with several manufacturing units and shipbuilding yards.
Moreover, another locational advantage of this port is its vicinity to the Jorge Chavez
International Airport. Handling over 43 million tonnes of cargo every year this port can
accommodate the largest cargo ships. The main items of export from this port are
minerals, steel, fish oil, and refined metals.

6. ● Port of Cartagena, Colombia
The Port of Cartagena is one of the busiest ports in Colombia which lies on the
northern shores of the country near the Caribbean. Located just 265 nautical miles
from the Panama Canal, the Cartagena Port houses multiple processing units and
industries like tobacco, sugar, leather products, fabrics, fertilizers, cosmetics, etc. It
approximately handles around 2.3 million TEU of cargo every year. Moreover, the
Caribbean Shipping Association has rated it as the Best Port in the Caribbean several
times in a row. The port exports items like platinum, resin, tobacco, coffee, coal, etc.
The major import items constitute food items, domestic appliances, car parts,
machines, etc.

7. ● Port of Santos, Brazil
The Port of Santos which is just 70 miles from Brazil’s most populous city of Sao
Paolo is one of the premium ports in the country. With a massive logistics
capacity, this port is also famous as one of the most modern ports on the
continent. The city of Santos is one of the primary foreign trade routes in Brazil.
Most importantly, approximately 27% of the trade balance of Brazil goes through
this port. The Port of Santos is connected to more than 600 ports across 125
countries. Some of the most important shipments moved to/from the Port of
Santos include wheat, sugar, oil, soybeans, alcohol, machines, paper,
automobiles, cotton oranges, and fertilizrs.

8. ● Port of San Lorenzo-San Martin, Argentina
The twin ports of San Lorenzo and San Martin located in Santa Fe province is one
of the busiest ports of Argentina. Moreover, it is also one of the largest South
American ports that handling 32 million tonnes of shipments per year. The province
of Santa Fe is home to several industries especially chemical, oil, petrochemical,
and agro-industrial. This port is also well connected to the rest of the country with
an excellent network of roadways, bridges, and railways. The Rosario International
Airport has situated just 32 Km from the port.

9. ● Port of San Antonio, Chile
The San Antonio Port in Chile is one of the largest ports in the country that is
located near the capital of Santiago on the central coast of Chile. This port
annually handles 12,100,000 tonnes of cargo that range from general cargo, liquid
shipments, RORO, etc. This port covers an area of 495 hectares and is well
connected to Santiago, south of Chile, and Argentina via road and rail. The
southern terminal which handles container ships comes with 32 hectares of
storage area and 12,000 sq m of warehouse space. The northern terminal which
solely handles solid bulk has a 320 m dock.

10. ● Port of Colon, Panama
The Port of Manzanillo on the Atlantic side of Panama spreads over an area of 58
hectares. However, the port authorities are planning an extension following with
another 100 acres will be added to the port area. This port handles over 14o
thousand Ro-Ro vehicles on a daily basis. Furthermore, it annually handles 1.9 to
2.1 million TEU of cargo per year.