FOB Prices and Freight Rate App (Updated 8 April)
Ocean Freight Comments - 8 April 2021 By Jay O'Neil Commodity Consulting Following the crazy price action of the first quarter of 2021, dry-bulk markets have considerable rebalancing to do. Over the past three months, markets have been highly unusual whereby the smaller Handysize, and up to Pa...
Interactive Ocean Freight Rates (Updated 8 April)
Ocean Freight Comments - 8 April 2021 By Jay O'Neil Commodity Consulting Following the crazy price action of the first quarter of 2021, dry-bulk markets have considerable rebalancing to do. Over the past three months, markets have been highly unusual whereby the smaller Handysize, and up to...
Middle East, Mediterranean and Africa Regional Analysis
Regional Updates MEDITERRANEAN/MIDDLE EAST/NORTH AFRICA After the problem with the Ever Given in the Suez Canal, the Egyptian government is said to be looking at the possibility of expanding the canal. There has also been some talk of a new canal from the Gulf of Aqaba, through Israel, to...
Face of Lobbying Changes; African Opportunity
Face of Lobbying Changes WTO members led by India and South Africa are pushing for a waiver from Intellectual Property (IP) protections for any goods related to COVID-19. Specifically, they want to freely replicate the vaccines that have been developed by private companies like Pfizer, Mo...
Ag Review - March 2021
WPI's monthly publication features a review of the past month's market and policy analysis articles. This issue examines the oilseeds, produce and organic food markets, agriculture policy under the Biden Administration, as well as analysis from China, the Middle East, and Africa. ...
Middle East, Mediterranean and Africa Regional Analysis
Regional Updates MEDITERRANEAN/MIDDLE EAST/NORTH AFRICA There hasn’t been this much news coverage of the Suez Canal since the crisis in 1956. Happily, the worst of the problem seems to be over with the grounded vessel now cleared and only the significant back-up of vessels to be dea...
Middle East, Mediterranean and Africa Regional Analysis
Regional Updates MEDITERRANEAN/MIDDLE EAST/NORTH AFRICA Grain and feed ingredient importers in Turkey will find that import prices have increased considerably after a drop of about 14 percent in the value of the Turkish lira versus the U.S. dollar. Some experts are saying that the drop co...
Middle East, Mediterranean and Africa Regional Analysis
Regional Updates MEDITERRANEAN/MIDDLE EAST/NORTH AFRICA The latest FAO report on Yemen shows that the 2020 grain harvest is down by about 5 percent at 365,000 MT and only covers less than 20 percent of the country's grain needs. Imports for 2021 are expected to be at 4.3 MMT: 3.2 MMT of w...
Middle East, Mediterranean and Africa Regional Analysis
Regional Updates MEDITERRANEAN/MIDDLE EAST/NORTH AFRICA Afghanistan officials say the country may need to import as much as 3 MMT of wheat in 2021/22 due to expected very low rainfall levels. According to some reports the rainfall will be down by 30 percent which could reduce local wheat...
Middle East, Mediterranean and Africa Regional Analysis
Regional Updates MEDITERRANEAN/MIDDLE EAST/NORTH AFRICA Wheat farmers in parts of Pakistan are complaining that government set wheat prices are going to lead to greatly increased smuggling and shortages of wheat supplies in some areas. There is a lot of confusion about prices with areas l...
Middle East, Mediterranean and Africa Regional Analysis
Regional Updates MEDITERRANEAN/MIDDLE EAST/NORTH AFRICA Pakistan’s Karachi port says that it has handled 2.5 MMT of imported wheat in the last four months. Wheat imports were mainly from Ukraine, Russia, and Germany. 200,000 MT of wheat has been discharged in February so far with another...
Middle East, Mediterranean and Africa Regional Analysis
Regional Updates MEDITERRANEAN/MIDDLE EAST/NORTH AFRICA Regional buyers/importers of wheat continue to watch the Russia situation very closely. As can be seen by the Russia wheat export numbers further down in this report, Russia is a very significant wheat supplier to the Middle East and...
Middle East, Mediterranean and Africa Regional Analysis
Regional Updates MEDITERRANEAN/MIDDLE EAST/NORTH AFRICA Sri Lanka has decided to lease underutilized land to investors for one year in the expectation of producing 250,000 MT of additional maize for animal feed use. The land will only be made available to local investors. In 2020 Sri Lank...
Sustainability Standards Setting; Addressing China
Sustainability Standards Setting There has been concern that addressing climate change and pursuing sustainability becomes a conduit for protectionism. Already, proponents for Africa are asking for recognition of the realities of agriculture on the Continent and requesting policy space. Others...
Middle East, Mediterranean and Africa Regional Analysis
Regional Updates MEDITERRANEAN/MIDDLE EAST/NORTH AFRICA Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund and Cosco Shipping Ports bought a 40 percent interest in privately owned Red Sea Gateway Terminal that operates its own container terminal in Saudi’s Jeddah Port. The terminal handles...
Middle East, Mediterranean and Africa Regional Analysis
Regional Updates MEDITERRANEAN/MIDDLE EAST/NORTH AFRICA Saudi Arabia’s Almarai Dairy has seen its last quarter of 2020 sales drop by 46 percent but profits for the period were up by 7 percent. Profit growth was due mainly to increased margin on export business to Egypt, Jordan and o...
Middle East, Mediterranean and Africa Regional Analysis
Regional Updates MEDITERRANEAN/MIDDLE EAST/NORTH AFRICA Egypt reports that the revenues from the Suez Canal are down by about 3 percent in 2020 to $5.61 billion. The government feels that 2021 revenues will be about the same level unless there are further COVID-19 related shipping problem...
Middle East, Mediterranean and Africa Regional Analysis
Regional Updates MEDITERRANEAN/MIDDLE EAST/NORTH AFRICA Reports in Nigeria say that the backlog for vessel discharge can be as long as one month and that the cost of moving a container from the port into Nigeria can be as high as $4,000 per container. Dozens of ships are waiting for disch...
Middle East, Mediterranean and Africa Regional Analysis
Regional Updates MEDITERRANEAN/MIDDLE EAST/NORTH AFRICA Iraq has devalued its currency by 20 percent, scrapping their old “official” exchange rate. Iraq’s financial situation has become very difficult due to the drop in prices for crude oil and oil products. Iraq does im...
Middle East, Mediterranean and Africa Regional Analysis
Regional Updates MEDITERRANEAN/MIDDLE EAST/NORTH AFRICA In Bangladesh, the “advanced income tax” on wheat imports has been lifted due to importers declaring much of their wheat as “duty-free” durum wheat. The tax had been 5 percent on ordinary wheat but nothing on...
Middle East, Mediterranean and Africa Regional Analysis
Regional Updates MEDITERRANEAN/MIDDLE EAST/NORTH AFRICA Egypt’s Agriculture Ministry says that about 3.63 million acres (3.5 million feddans) will be planted in wheat in 2020 – planting began in mid-November with the harvest starting in April. This forecast by the Ministry is...
Middle East, Mediterranean and Africa Regional Analysis
Regional Updates MEDITERRANEAN/MIDDLE EAST/NORTH AFRICA An electrical fire at the main grain silo in Tartous Syria has meant that 35,000 MT of wheat had to be moved to other storage. The wheat was not damaged by the fire but there was some damage to the silos – total damage to the s...
Middle East, Mediterranean and Africa Regional Analysis
MEDITERRANEAN/MIDDLE EAST/NORTH AFRICA It is reported in Egypt that the government cabinet supports a plan to grant tariff exemption to grain importers for the 14 percent freight VAT charge. The freight VAT, based on estimated freight costs, has created serious cost premiums for export fr...
Middle East, Mediterranean and Africa Regional Analysis
Regional Update MEDITERRANEAN/MIDDLE EAST/NORTH AFRICA Abu Dhabi’s state owned ADQ (formerly Abu Dhabi Development Holdings) has purchased a 45 percent stake in Louis Dreyfus Company (LDC). The actual purchase price has not been disclosed. LDC has 18,000 employees and 2019 turnover...
FOB Prices and Freight Rate App (Updated 8 April)
Ocean Freight Comments - 8 April 2021 By Jay O'Neil Commodity Consulting Following the crazy price action of the first quarter of 2021, dry-bulk markets have considerable rebalancing to do. Over the past three months, markets have been highly unusual whereby the smaller Handysize, and up to Pa...
Interactive Ocean Freight Rates (Updated 8 April)
Ocean Freight Comments - 8 April 2021 By Jay O'Neil Commodity Consulting Following the crazy price action of the first quarter of 2021, dry-bulk markets have considerable rebalancing to do. Over the past three months, markets have been highly unusual whereby the smaller Handysize, and up to...
Middle East, Mediterranean and Africa Regional Analysis
Regional Updates MEDITERRANEAN/MIDDLE EAST/NORTH AFRICA After the problem with the Ever Given in the Suez Canal, the Egyptian government is said to be looking at the possibility of expanding the canal. There has also been some talk of a new canal from the Gulf of Aqaba, through Israel, to...
Face of Lobbying Changes; African Opportunity
Face of Lobbying Changes WTO members led by India and South Africa are pushing for a waiver from Intellectual Property (IP) protections for any goods related to COVID-19. Specifically, they want to freely replicate the vaccines that have been developed by private companies like Pfizer, Mo...
Ag Review - March 2021
WPI's monthly publication features a review of the past month's market and policy analysis articles. This issue examines the oilseeds, produce and organic food markets, agriculture policy under the Biden Administration, as well as analysis from China, the Middle East, and Africa. ...
Middle East, Mediterranean and Africa Regional Analysis
Regional Updates MEDITERRANEAN/MIDDLE EAST/NORTH AFRICA There hasn’t been this much news coverage of the Suez Canal since the crisis in 1956. Happily, the worst of the problem seems to be over with the grounded vessel now cleared and only the significant back-up of vessels to be dea...
Middle East, Mediterranean and Africa Regional Analysis
Regional Updates MEDITERRANEAN/MIDDLE EAST/NORTH AFRICA Grain and feed ingredient importers in Turkey will find that import prices have increased considerably after a drop of about 14 percent in the value of the Turkish lira versus the U.S. dollar. Some experts are saying that the drop co...
Middle East, Mediterranean and Africa Regional Analysis
Regional Updates MEDITERRANEAN/MIDDLE EAST/NORTH AFRICA The latest FAO report on Yemen shows that the 2020 grain harvest is down by about 5 percent at 365,000 MT and only covers less than 20 percent of the country's grain needs. Imports for 2021 are expected to be at 4.3 MMT: 3.2 MMT of w...
Middle East, Mediterranean and Africa Regional Analysis
Regional Updates MEDITERRANEAN/MIDDLE EAST/NORTH AFRICA Afghanistan officials say the country may need to import as much as 3 MMT of wheat in 2021/22 due to expected very low rainfall levels. According to some reports the rainfall will be down by 30 percent which could reduce local wheat...
Middle East, Mediterranean and Africa Regional Analysis
Regional Updates MEDITERRANEAN/MIDDLE EAST/NORTH AFRICA Wheat farmers in parts of Pakistan are complaining that government set wheat prices are going to lead to greatly increased smuggling and shortages of wheat supplies in some areas. There is a lot of confusion about prices with areas l...
Middle East, Mediterranean and Africa Regional Analysis
Regional Updates MEDITERRANEAN/MIDDLE EAST/NORTH AFRICA Pakistan’s Karachi port says that it has handled 2.5 MMT of imported wheat in the last four months. Wheat imports were mainly from Ukraine, Russia, and Germany. 200,000 MT of wheat has been discharged in February so far with another...
Middle East, Mediterranean and Africa Regional Analysis
Regional Updates MEDITERRANEAN/MIDDLE EAST/NORTH AFRICA Regional buyers/importers of wheat continue to watch the Russia situation very closely. As can be seen by the Russia wheat export numbers further down in this report, Russia is a very significant wheat supplier to the Middle East and...
Middle East, Mediterranean and Africa Regional Analysis
Regional Updates MEDITERRANEAN/MIDDLE EAST/NORTH AFRICA Sri Lanka has decided to lease underutilized land to investors for one year in the expectation of producing 250,000 MT of additional maize for animal feed use. The land will only be made available to local investors. In 2020 Sri Lank...
Sustainability Standards Setting; Addressing China
Sustainability Standards Setting There has been concern that addressing climate change and pursuing sustainability becomes a conduit for protectionism. Already, proponents for Africa are asking for recognition of the realities of agriculture on the Continent and requesting policy space. Others...
Middle East, Mediterranean and Africa Regional Analysis
Regional Updates MEDITERRANEAN/MIDDLE EAST/NORTH AFRICA Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund and Cosco Shipping Ports bought a 40 percent interest in privately owned Red Sea Gateway Terminal that operates its own container terminal in Saudi’s Jeddah Port. The terminal handles...
Middle East, Mediterranean and Africa Regional Analysis
Regional Updates MEDITERRANEAN/MIDDLE EAST/NORTH AFRICA Saudi Arabia’s Almarai Dairy has seen its last quarter of 2020 sales drop by 46 percent but profits for the period were up by 7 percent. Profit growth was due mainly to increased margin on export business to Egypt, Jordan and o...
Middle East, Mediterranean and Africa Regional Analysis
Regional Updates MEDITERRANEAN/MIDDLE EAST/NORTH AFRICA Egypt reports that the revenues from the Suez Canal are down by about 3 percent in 2020 to $5.61 billion. The government feels that 2021 revenues will be about the same level unless there are further COVID-19 related shipping problem...
Middle East, Mediterranean and Africa Regional Analysis
Regional Updates MEDITERRANEAN/MIDDLE EAST/NORTH AFRICA Reports in Nigeria say that the backlog for vessel discharge can be as long as one month and that the cost of moving a container from the port into Nigeria can be as high as $4,000 per container. Dozens of ships are waiting for disch...
Middle East, Mediterranean and Africa Regional Analysis
Regional Updates MEDITERRANEAN/MIDDLE EAST/NORTH AFRICA Iraq has devalued its currency by 20 percent, scrapping their old “official” exchange rate. Iraq’s financial situation has become very difficult due to the drop in prices for crude oil and oil products. Iraq does im...
Middle East, Mediterranean and Africa Regional Analysis
Regional Updates MEDITERRANEAN/MIDDLE EAST/NORTH AFRICA In Bangladesh, the “advanced income tax” on wheat imports has been lifted due to importers declaring much of their wheat as “duty-free” durum wheat. The tax had been 5 percent on ordinary wheat but nothing on...
Middle East, Mediterranean and Africa Regional Analysis
Regional Updates MEDITERRANEAN/MIDDLE EAST/NORTH AFRICA Egypt’s Agriculture Ministry says that about 3.63 million acres (3.5 million feddans) will be planted in wheat in 2020 – planting began in mid-November with the harvest starting in April. This forecast by the Ministry is...
Middle East, Mediterranean and Africa Regional Analysis
Regional Updates MEDITERRANEAN/MIDDLE EAST/NORTH AFRICA An electrical fire at the main grain silo in Tartous Syria has meant that 35,000 MT of wheat had to be moved to other storage. The wheat was not damaged by the fire but there was some damage to the silos – total damage to the s...
Middle East, Mediterranean and Africa Regional Analysis
MEDITERRANEAN/MIDDLE EAST/NORTH AFRICA It is reported in Egypt that the government cabinet supports a plan to grant tariff exemption to grain importers for the 14 percent freight VAT charge. The freight VAT, based on estimated freight costs, has created serious cost premiums for export fr...
Middle East, Mediterranean and Africa Regional Analysis
Regional Update MEDITERRANEAN/MIDDLE EAST/NORTH AFRICA Abu Dhabi’s state owned ADQ (formerly Abu Dhabi Development Holdings) has purchased a 45 percent stake in Louis Dreyfus Company (LDC). The actual purchase price has not been disclosed. LDC has 18,000 employees and 2019 turnover...