Maersk ship

The report was compiled for Maersk Line by Rio de Janeiro international trade data and consulting company Dataliner.

Maersk Line said in a statement that the figures represent total ocean trade with Brazil and not just its own shipping traffic, Reuters reported.

The logistics giant controls about 15 per cent of the container shipping market in Latin America.

According to Peter Gyde, head of Maersk Line in Brazil, despite China's economy stabilising from a slowdown, this has not reflected any growth in Brazil's trade with its largest partner.

Exports of refrigerated goods to Asia fell 7.9 per cent in the third quarter from a year earlier, while exports of 'dry' non-refrigerated goods grew 1.5 per cent.

'Brazil has yet to reap the benefits of better consumer spending in Asia's biggest economy,' Gyde said. 'Asia has been the locomotive of growth and its slowing down is a bit of a concern.'

Some of the decline in trade to Asia is being made up with new trade with the Middle East, he added.

Overall Brazilian seaborne trade fell 0.4 per cent in the third quarter compared with a year earlier as declines in both imports and exports showed weakness in domestic and international markets, Danish shipping company Maersk Line said on Tuesday.

The news comes just as the group's CEO Nils Andersen announced an expansion of its terminals network in Latin America, Russia and other growth markets.