GRAIN SHIPMENTS BEING DIVERTED FROM SUEZ CANAL
Grain shipments increasingly are being diverted away from the Suez Canal because of attacks on commercial vessels in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden by Iranian-backed Houthi militia based in Yemen, WHO said on a social media platform on Jan. 18. The WTO said about 42% of wheat shipments from the European Union, Russia and Ukraine that would typically pass through the Suez Canal chose alternative routes in the first two weeks of January. That was up from 8% in December.
As a result of the hostilities, several of the world’s largest shipping firms — including Maersk, Hapag-Lloyd, and the Mediterranean Shipping Co. — have suspended shipping through the Suez Canal. Some carriers are diverting their shipments to Europe and the United States via the Cape of Good Hope, adding weeks to the journey and increasing costs. Global grain shipping also is facing challenges in other parts of the world. Because of lower-than-normal water levels due to drought, less grain is being shipped through the Panama Canal because it cannot handle larger vessels. Also, the nearly two-year-long invasion of Ukraine by Russia has caused a reduction in Ukrainian grain exports.
(Link: WorldGrain)
USDA CONFIRMS FIRST BIG U.S. SOY SALE TO CHINA SINCE MID-DECEMBER
USDA on Friday confirmed private sales of 297,000 metric tons of U.S. soybeans to China. The booking also follows a 6% slide in Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) soybean futures since the start of the calendar year, with the benchmark contract dipping to $12.01 a bushel this week. Soybean futures have sagged on improved crop weather in Brazil, the largest global producer and exporter, following weeks of drought, although Brazilian production prospects remain uncertain. China has booked 20.2 million metric tons of U.S. soybeans so far in the 2023/24 marketing year that began Sept. 1, down from 27.2 million tons a year ago. The USDA has projected China’s global 2023/24 soybean imports at 102 million tons, up from 100.85 million in 2022/23. However, a recent downturn in China’s massive hog sector is expected to reduce first-quarter Chinese soybean imports to a four-year low.
(Link: Successful Farming)
