Brazil’s ports and airports remain open to Russian ships and aircraft

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – Although Brazil voted in a United Nations assembly to condemn Russia for its invasion of Ukraine, it has not yet joined the movement led by European Union countries to deny ships and aircraft belonging to Russian companies entry into its national territory.

When asked, Brazilian authorities responsible for regulating the two sectors said they have not yet received any instruction from the federal government to impose such a restriction.

The National Civil Aviation Agency (Anac) which regulates and monitors the aviation industry in Brazil, stressed that “there are no air routes, direct or stopover, from Brazil to Russia. When asked about Russian airlines in Brazil, Anac stated that currently only three companies have licenses to operate cargo flights to Brazil. These are: Aviacon Zitotrans, Rada Airlines and Volga Dnepr Airlines.

The National Agency for Transport by Water (Antaq) stated that it “has not yet been notified or asked to comment on the obstacles for Russian ships in Brazilian ports.”

As for long-haul cargo traffic between the two countries, the agency reported that Brazil exported 1.56 million tons to Russia in 2021. The main products were sugar with 772 thousand tons and soybeans with 706 thousand tons.

As for imports, 13.4 million tons of Russian products were imported to Brazilian ports last year. The main items were fertilizers (5.8 million tons), coal (4.4 million tons), and petroleum and derivatives (1.3 million tons).

When asked whether the Brazilian government might impose restrictions on Russian ships and aircraft in response to the armed offensive against Ukraine led by Vladimir Putin, the State Department did not respond by the end of this text.