SAO PAULO, Sept 17 (Reuters) - A ship loading soybeans for China at Brazil's Santos port hit and damaged a grain elevator component that loads soy and corn into holds, shutting down the public grains terminal over the weekend, logistics agents SC Commodities said on Monday.
The accident was being investigated and it yet unclear what caused it.
Santos has four other dry bulk terminals that can handle the movement of grains until berth No. 38 is fixed. Brazil exported most of its soybean crop earlier this year, however, and the new crop will not be ready to harvest until January.
The so-called shiploader, which carries dry bulk commodities such as soy from terminal warehouses on a system of conveyor belts and drops them into the holds of ships, is part of berth No. 38 on the public grains terminal of the port.
Brazil is expected to export a record amount of corn this year, but the port should have sufficient loading capacity to handle the shipments. Brazil exported 2.7 million tonnes of corn in August, not all of it from Santos.
A representative of the port of Santos was not immediately available for comment.
Earlier in 2012, the TGG grains terminal at Santos had one of its four shiploaders ripped from the pier by a ship, interrupting the loading of soy and corn for weeks.
