Maritime freight loaded and discharged in Latin America and the Caribbean is estimated to have fallen by 3.4% between 2019 and 2020, according to UNCTAD’s Review of Maritime Transport 2021.
This was a period when exports and imports fell in almost all regions, because of the COVID-19 pandemic. In Latin America, GDP was down by 7.1% in 2020, while total merchandise exports and imports both declined, with imports being hit harder.
The region’s container port traffic declined by 1.8% in 2020, with volumes totaling 59 million TEUs, equivalent to 7.2% of global port container traffic.
Top 10 countries in the region
The spread and performance of ports varies greatly. The top 10 countries according to the number of port terminals are:
- Brazil
- Mexico
- Argentina
- Chile
- Peru
- Colombia
- Paraguay
- Venezuela
- Panama
- Cuba
These countries together account for 74% of the region’s port facilities.
On the other side of the picture, 15 countries or territories have five or fewer port facilities each:
- Antiqua and Barbuda
- Bermuda
- Belize
- Barbados
- Turks and Caicos Islands
- El Salvador
- Aruba
- Bonaire
- Cayman Islands
- Dominica
- Anguilla
- Montserrat
- Sint Eustatius
- Saint Barth
- Sint Maarten.
The report also notes that the ports system differs across the region in terms of maturity and productivity. For example, in the liquid and dry bulk categories, productivity is higher in the most specialized countries, as in Argentina, Brazil and Columbia, which move nearly 600 million tonnes a year.
In the last few years, the region has seen enormous growth in terms of containers, although only four specialized terminals yet have semi-automated processes. Progress in digitalization and paperless transactions has also been slow, and regulatory procedures are not very transparent, making it difficult to promote effective competition
the report says.
In addition, some areas have weakly regulated markets while others have excessive competition, which may prove harmful. Systems for the design, granting and monitoring of concessions are affected by institutional weaknesses and the end result is often inefficiency and low productivity.
Other key facts
- Logistics and port services are provided through 1,967 port facilities across 50 countries and territories in the region, of which just under two thirds are certified as compliant with the International Ship and Port Facility Security (ISPS) code.
- Panama continued to be the country with the world’s largest fleet (dwt and commercial value in $) registered under its flag.
- The best-connected port based on UNCTAD’s Liner Shipping Connectivity Index (LSCI) in Latin America and the Caribbean in 2020 was Cartagena, Colombia.
