Cargill CEO Demands Tapajós River Dredging Amid El Niño Drought Concerns

Cargill's Brazil CEO Paulo Sousa has urged maintenance dredging of the Tapajós River in response to El Niño drought concerns.

The river, a major artery for grain exports in Brazil's northern region, faces navigability issues due to lack of dredging. Maintenance dredging is essential to prevent the waterway from becoming impassable during a drought.

Sousa stated that dredging is critical infrastructure and should not be seen as an environmental concern. Cargill supports dredging projects that comply with environmental rules, he said. 'We ended up being something of a scapegoat in this debate,' Sousa noted.