SAO PAULO, May 7 (Reuters) - Road and rail links to a

major grains port in southern Brazil have been disrupted by the

impact of heavy floods, Anec, an association representing global

grain exporters including Cargill and Bunge, said on

Tuesday.

Rail service to the port has been interrupted while road

blockades were forcing trucks loaded with grains to travel an

extra 400 kilometers (248.55 miles) through alternative routes

to reach the port, increasing freight costs, Anec said.

Cargonave, a shipping agency, said grain arrivals at Rio

Grande had slowed after torrential rains battered Brazil's

southernmost state, which is a big soy, corn, wheat, rice and

meat producer.

Earlier on Tuesday, the port authority said in a

statement Rio Grande was "operating normally" as its terminals

had not been affected by the rise in the level of the Laguna dos

Patos lagoon.

At around 8 a.m. the current was ebbing in the access

channel Rio Grande port, allowing water to flow at a speed of

about three knots, the equivalent of 5.55 kilometers per hour,

the authority noted. The tide table indicated a level of 90 cm

above normal.

Grain traders based in Brazil exported about 10.4 million

metric tons of soybeans from Rio Grande port in 2023, making it

the country's fourth-ranked port for soy shipments, according to

shipping data.

Last year, companies also exported about 3.6 million

tons of various soy meals from Rio Grande, putting it behind

Santos and Paranagua only for this type of product, the data

showed.