After at least three weeks in a tense situation due to the lack of aviation gasoline [avgas] in full peak in the harvest operations, the agricultural aviation companies in São Paulo began to receive the fuel on Wednesday (16), informs the Union National Agricultural Aviation Companies (Sindag). According to information from distributors, in Rio Grande do Sul, state with the largest fleet moved to the country, companies are expected to start receiving fuel on Thursday (17).

The expectation now is that the amount imported by Petrobras and that began to be discharged Tuesday at the Port of Santos, in São Paulo, will be enough to meet the demand. Since most of the reservoirs were already dry in the companies, distributors will need to ensure a large flow of cargo to meet demand.

Sindag also awaits the definition of the date of a meeting that must be scheduled by the federal government with aviation entities, Petrobras, Anac and other agencies. The meeting was attended by the President of the Republic, who interceded in the case on Tuesday (14), determining priority in the liberation of the cargo of avgas in the Port of Santos. The meeting will be to define together with the entities what the demand of avgas in the Country, in order to ensure that the problem is not repeated.

Imports 

The fuel is being imported due to the stoppage of the avgas production line at the Presidente Bernardes Refinery in Cubatão. The refinery is the only one that manufactures this type of fuel in Brazil and its line would be stopped since November for maintenance, and should be inactive until at least August.

Brazil has the world's second largest fleet of agricultural aircraft, with approximately 2,100 aircraft. Of this contingent, half is moved to avgas, 35% is appliances with ethanol engines and 15% powered by aviation kerosene (QAV). The crisis of supply of avgas began to be felt still in December, when the companies happened to report to the Sindag difficulties in buying the fuel.

Risk

The aero-agricultural union began to collect information and a solution from Petrobras, as the situation put at risk the protection of crops important to the country, such as soy, sugar cane and rice. While in São Paulo, about 30 aircraft stopped for lack of fuel (about 10% of the state fleet), in Rio Grande do Sul, the state with the largest quantity of avgas (about 80% of a fleet of 427 aircraft), the companies that still had capacity to operate had fuel for two days of operations.

The situation among the gauchos was not only worse because of the rains, which left the aircraft in the hangars. But ironically, that was the biggest concern: as time goes on, the entire fleet is expected to operate in an emergency, as heat and humidity greatly increase the risk of fungal diseases in soybeans (of which the state is the third largest producer ) and rice (RS accounts for 70% of the Brazilian crop).