OCEAN FREIGHT RATES FOR US GRAIN DROP IN THIRD QUARTER
Ocean freight rates for shipping grain from the US Gulf and Pacific Northwest dropped in the third quarter compared to the previous quarter and from a year ago, according to the Oct. 26 Grain Transportation Report from the US Department of Agriculture (USDA). Compared to the prior four-year average, the rate for routes from the Gulf and Pacific Northwest to Japan decreased while the rate for routes from the US Gulf to Europe increased. “Both quarter-to-quarter and year-to-year, ocean freight rates were volatile because of extreme weather, the closure of the Ukraine Black Sea grain corridor, and the market’s pessimism about China’s economic recovery,” the USDA said.
Current rates, while below the yearly peaks reached in the week ended Sept. 21, are strong compared to most of the third quarter. While not certain to continue, the rates have fallen over the last two weeks, the USDA said. China’s corn imports are expected to be high. “The country’s imports of competitively priced Brazilian corn — as well as large quantities of Ukrainian corn that started to ship in October — are boosting the demand for Panamax vessels,” the USDA said.
(Link: WorldGrain)
UKRAINE GRAIN EXPORTS CONTINUE TO SLIP
Grain exports for Ukraine fell to 8.72 million tonnes so far for the 2023-24 marketing season, Reuters reported, citing Ministry of Agrarian Policy and Food data, which also showed that by Oct. 28 of last year, the country had exported 12.34 million tonnes. Export volumes this year so far were 4.4 million tonnes of wheat, 3.5 million tonnes of corn, and 669,000 tonnes of barley. In the previous season, Ukraine exported 4.7 million tonnes of wheat, 6.6 million tonnes of corn, and 1.05 million tonnes of barley. The ministry said 1.97 million tonnes of grain were exported in the first 26 days of October.
Ukrainian officials said 51 cargo vessels had entered a new Black Sea shipping corridor since it came into operation in August as Kyiv stepped up a push to defy the de-facto Russian blockade. Ukraine’s new corridor does not go directly toward the Bosphorus Strait as it did under the initiative but hugs the coastlines of Ukraine and NATO members Romania and Bulgaria. The corridor temporarily was suspended on Oct. 26 due to the threat of Russian warplanes and sea mines. Ukraine’s government expects it to harvest 79 million tonnes of grain and oilseeds in 2023, with its 2023-24 exportable surplus projected to be about 50 million tonnes.
(Link: WorldGrain)
