Port of Antwerp Appoints New Brazilian Representative
Henrique Machado Rabelo, who has for some time already been responsible for commercial and institutional contacts and will now be focusing on the latter, was recently joined by Ricardo Sproesser, who will manage and develop the commercial contacts. Sproesser has over 20 years’ experience in the maritime and logistics sector, and is without any doubt an asset to the Brazilian team.
“Brazil is a key trading partner of our port community. In terms of share in the annual maritime traffic destined for Antwerp, Brazil ranks sixth,” says Luc Arnouts, commercial director of the Antwerp Port Authority.
“In such strategic regions we work with local representatives to develop a network and generate traffic for Antwerp,” he adds.
Sproesser’s first contact with the Port of Antwerp dates back to 2011 when, as a maritime professional, he took part in a seminar on Container Terminal Management, organised by APEC, the Antwerp training centre. Together with a delegation of the Port of Antwerp, Sproesser will also attend Intermodal, the three-day transport and logistics trade fair, which starts on April 5th.
In keeping with tradition, the Port of Antwerp will also this year be represented at Intermodal with its own stand. APEC, the Antwerp Port Training Centre, will also participate in the exhibition.
The centre, which in recent years has provided training to almost 500 Brazilian maritime professionals, will organise a seminar on the role of a port in current and future supply chains, at the large conference hall of Intermodal on April 7th.
As Europe’s second largest port, which last year reported a record throughput of 208 million tonnes, Antwerp has acquired a great deal of relevant expertise and insight on the management of logistics chains. APEC’s training programmes and seminars allow ports worldwide to gain access to this knowledge and know-how.
Brazil is a major trading partner of the Port of Antwerp. Containers account for the bulk of the total traffic volume of 6.1 million tonnes (2015) transiting between the Port of Antwerp and Brazil.
Major import products are agricultural products, metals and transport parts. Cargo leaving Antwerp consists mainly of frozen vegetables, pharmaceuticals, chemicals, car parts and fertilisers. 4 in 5 container journeys between Europe and Brazil call at the Port of Antwerp, including a first port of call service from Bahia, and several breakbulk services transit each month between the port and various Brazilian ports.
Due to its inland location and the multiplicity of connections via inland waterways, rail, truck, shortsea and feeder, the Port of Antwerp is perfectly linked up with the major production and consumption centres in Europe, Scandinavia, Russia and the Mediterranean region.
With its large storage capacity and broad array of logistics services for all kinds of cargo and the customs-related benefits, the Port of Antwerp is the ideal European distribution centre for Brazilian goods.
