The Logistics Bottleneck: How Port Infrastructure is Shaping Agricultural Trade in Latin America

Introduction

Agriculture may begin in the soil—but it ends at the port. For exporters across Latin America, logistics infrastructure is no longer a secondary consideration—it is a defining variable in profitability, competitiveness, and market access. As global demand for food imports grows, especially in Asia and the Middle East, the region’s outdated and congested ports are becoming a critical bottleneck.

For Bermudez-Mills Holdings, understanding where these chokepoints lie—and how to navigate or invest around them—is fundamental to scaling agricultural trade from Ecuador and the wider region.

Latin America’s Export Paradox

Latin America supplies over 16% of the world’s agricultural exports, according to the World Bank. Yet many of its ports operate with the inefficiencies of the early 2000s:

• The average container dwell time in Latin American ports is 7.5 days, compared to just 3–4 days in global hubs like Rotterdam or Singapore.

• According to the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), logistics costs in Latin America represent 14–15% of GDP, almost double that of OECD countries.

• Cold chain coverage across the region is severely limited, resulting in post-harvest losses of up to 40% for perishable exports such as berries, shrimp, and cut flowers.

  
  

Case Study: Ecuador’s Export Infrastructure Challenges

Ecuador has made major strides in increasing its agricultural export volume—reaching nearly $9 billion in non-oil exports in 2023, led by bananas, shrimp, cocoa, and flowers. But its trade efficiency is being limited by:

• Port Congestion in Guayaquil: The country’s main maritime hub is operating at over 85% of capacity, according to CEPAL. Vessel waiting times and internal trucking delays are reducing profit margins, particularly for time-sensitive cargo.

• Lack of Cold Chain at Scale: Many smaller exporters struggle to meet EU and Middle Eastern quality standards due to gaps in cold storage infrastructure between inland farms and port terminals.

• High Inland Transport Costs: Poor road conditions and high fuel prices inflate logistics costs by 20–30% compared to Chile or Colombia.

  
  

As a result, while Ecuador leads in volume for several exports, it lags in value per tonne. For example, Ecuadorian bananas fetch approximately 15–20% lower market prices in the EU than Colombian or Costa Rican equivalents—primarily due to quality degradation during transit and inconsistent arrival timelines.

Regional Comparisons: Lessons from Chile and Brazil

Chile has become a benchmark for export logistics:

• With over 95% of its fruit exports shipped via refrigerated containers, Chile boasts the highest cold chain penetration in the region.

• Investments in automation at Valparaíso and San Antonio ports have reduced container loading times by 30% since 2019.

• As a result, Chilean cherries reach China in 22 days—a full week faster than Peruvian equivalents—allowing them to command a 25% price premium during the Lunar New Year season.

  
  

Brazil, meanwhile, has shifted large volumes of soy exports from southern ports to new Atlantic corridors via the Northern Arc—cutting inland transport distances by up to 1,000 km and slashing costs by $30 per tonne. A combination of public-private partnerships and international investment helped develop this corridor in under a decade.

The Strategic Imperative for Investment

If Latin American economies are to fully monetise their comparative advantage in agri-production, the next frontier is logistics modernisation. This includes:

• Cold chain expansion: especially critical for seafood, fresh fruit, flowers, and animal products.

• Port automation and digital customs clearance: to reduce dwell time and enhance traceability.

• Inland connectivity upgrades: to lower the cost per kilometre from farm to port.

• Cluster development near port zones: combining agri-processing with logistics services to reduce time-to-export.

  

  
  

Bermudez-Mills Holdings: Navigating the Infrastructure Gap

Bermudez-Mills Holdings is actively addressing these challenges by:

• Identifying high-friction logistics corridors in Ecuador and adjacent regions where minor investments in infrastructure can yield major efficiency gains.

• Working with local partners to pilot aggregation and cold storage hubs for smallholder exporters of fruit, cocoa, and seafood.

• Engaging with policy stakeholders on customs modernisation and regulatory bottlenecks that delay time-sensitive exports.

• Supporting clients in benchmarking logistics KPIs against top-performing agri-export nations, enabling data-driven decision-making.

  
  

Conclusion

Latin America’s future in global agriculture will not be won on the farm alone—it will be decided at the port gate, the warehouse loading dock, and the highway out of town. Countries like Ecuador have the climate, biodiversity, and productive capacity to thrive in global markets. But unless they match that with modern, resilient logistics infrastructure, their exports will remain under-valued and over-delayed.

At Bermudez-Mills Holdings, we are not just moving products—we are reengineering the pathways through which they reach the world.