Adufértil, a company headquartered in Campinas, Brazil, is investing approximately R$65 million to start using Portocel to ship and handle fertilizers in Brazil, a move that is expected to create 90 direct jobs, in addition to around 300 indirect jobs. Adufértil’s customers include Suzano, the world leader in the production of bioproducts from eucalyptus, and other players in the segment.
This move reinforces the process of diversification of Portocel, a terminal whose shareholders are Cenibra and Suzano. The port is recognized for its excellence in moving forestry products and has been diversifying its operations by handling cargo such as ornamental rocks, steel products, large equipment for the oil industry and others. Together with Adufértil, the terminal will start handling fertilizers, one of the main commodities in Brazil.
Portocel is expected to move between 120,000 and 180,000 tonnes of fertilizers per year, with potential for expansion. The operation will involve a broad logistics chain, creating indirect jobs for drivers, port workers, agents and maritime support personnel, among others.
Adufértil will install a mixer in an area of approximately 90,000 m2, identified for the expansion of Portocel operations and near the Suzano plant in Aracruz. The incorporation of approximately 300,000 m2 adjacent to the port – expanding the available area by 60% – is part of the terminal’s strategy to enhance storage and handling options, increasing the attractiveness for new types of cargo.
“This new operation involving fertilizers strengthens our position as a multi-purpose port and increases our share of participation in this segment, in addition to helping establish the town of Aracruz as an important logistics hub in Espírito Santo and Brazil. It also benefits from incentives offered by SUDENE and others, which are an additional attraction for new businesses in the region,” highlighted Alexandre Billot Mori, executive manager of Operations at Portocel and president of the Business Movement Association of Aracruz and Region (Associação Movimento Empresarial de Aracruz and Região, or AMEAR).
For Suzano, this is a strategic move, considering that the company plants 1.2 million trees per day in different sites in Brazil. “The mixer project will enable us to reduce our fertilizer supply radius, creating economic, social and environmental value for the entire supply chain, while also contributing for the development of the local community and leveraging our commitment to ESG practices through emissions reductions,” pointed out Viviane Danemberg Gomes Lichtenstein, executive manager of Supply Chain at Suzano. She added that projects like this demonstrate the importance of fostering strategic partnerships as a way of providing disruptive and permanent solutions to the supply chain.
Carlos Alberto Nassur, executive manager of Forestry Operations at Suzano, highlighted that the logistics chain will reinforce the competitiveness of the operation, due to the integration and proximity between port and plant. “Much of the fertilizer we use in our farms will now arrive via Portocel, which helps strengthen our port and, more importantly, the Aracruz and Espírito Santo economies, through the generation of taxes and income and the creation of jobs,” he said.
“This initiative, carefully conceived by Adufértil, Portocel and Suzano, demonstrates not only the interest and complete trust of the main players in the sector, but also the efforts to increasingly improve the pulp production chain,” said Douglas Fontanini, CEO of Adufértil, adding that the company has been a partner of Suzano by supplying fertilizers for its farms since 1998 and has proven itself committed to the company's values.
Adufértil’s operation is expected to start in 2026, after the construction of the mixer is completed, opening new logistical frontiers for the movement of fertilizers to serve the states of Bahia, Espírito Santo and Minas Gerais.