FOB Prices and Freight Rate App (Updated 7 December)
Ocean Freight Comments - 7 December 2023 By Jay O'Neil Commodity Consulting As the old saying goes, “what goes up, must come down.” Dry bulk markets were not kind to Capesize vessel owners this week as that sector witnessed an historic one-day decline on Thursday. Markets seem confu...
Interactive Ocean Freight Rates (Updated 7 December)
Ocean Freight Comments - 7 December 2023 By Jay O'Neil Commodity Consulting: As the old saying goes, “what goes up, must come down.” Dry bulk markets were not kind to Capesize vessel owners this week as that sector witnessed an historic one-day decline on Thursday. Markets seem conf...
Middle East, Mediterranean and Africa Regional
Regional Updates MEDITERRANEAN/MIDDLE EAST/NORTH AFRICA/AFRICA – MEA REGION Red Sea and Arabian Sea shipments in transit are being attacked by forces said to be from Yemen or Somalia. Attackers say that they are only attacking vessels with some relationship with Israel. Both Zim lines and...
Middle East, Mediterranean and Africa Regional
Regional Updates MEDITERRANEAN/MIDDLE EAST/NORTH AFRICA/AFRICA – MEA REGION Egypt’s Wadi Poultry, a division of Wadi Group, has seen the purchase of shares in the company by Mitsui & Company of Japan. No financial details of the share ownership have been released. Wadi Group say...
African Farming; European Farming
African Farming This is said to be the African Century. Over half the world’s population growth to 2050 will come from that region of the world. Yet its agriculture is woefully unable to feed the current population, let alone where it is headed. The average yield for maize this year in Af...
Middle East, Mediterranean and Africa Regional
Regional Updates MEDITERRANEAN/MIDDLE EAST/NORTH AFRICA/AFRICA – MEA REGION Pakistan’s wheat imports for 2023/24 will be lower according to a recent FAO report. 2023/24 wheat imports are seen as 1.8 MMT, which is below import levels of the last two years, although the five -year ave...
Middle East, Mediterranean and Africa Regional
Regional Updates MEDITERRANEAN/MIDDLE EAST/NORTH AFRICA/AFRICA – MEA REGION Jordan has begun shipments of grain to the West Bank as part of its 45,000 MT donation of wheat and grain. Bangladesh grain imports for 2023/24 are seen by the FAO as 6.1 MMT of wheat and 2.1 MMT of maize. Local p...
Middle East, Mediterranean and Africa Regional
Regional Updates MEDITERRANEAN/MIDDLE EAST/NORTH AFRICA/AFRICA – MEA REGION Israel said that any ships damaged by the current conflict will be fully compensated by the government. There has been no reported damage of any vessel from missiles/rockets. Shipping lines have been advised to ho...
Middle East, Mediterranean and Africa Regional
Regional Updates MEDITERRANEAN/MIDDLE EAST/NORTH AFRICA/AFRICA – MEA REGION Pakistan’s Economic Coordination Committee approved the importation of 1 MMT of wheat during 2023/24 – this in order to keep wheat reserve stock levels. Importation will be by the Trading Corporation o...
War’s Impact on Food
Israel is not the agricultural export powerhouse like Ukraine, but it is a supplier of high quality and high value fruits and vegetables. The country is 95 percent self-sufficient in food despite occupying semi-arid desert land. Much of this was achieved through intense effort at land improveme...
Middle East, Mediterranean and Africa Regional
Regional Updates MEDITERRANEAN/MIDDLE EAST/NORTH AFRICA/AFRICA – MEA REGION Iran has proposed to Russia that grain shipments can be made from Russia to third countries using “safe, alternative” Iran routes. Iranian officials say that this Russia/Iran route is yet to be used bu...
Sub-Saharan Africa’s Future
Analysts at Rabobank looked at future food needs in Sub-Saharan Africa and concluded that wheat imports will increase and so will the need for milling capacity. Although its wheat production has been expanding, the region already imports almost 73 percent of its wheat consumption. Its wheat yie...
Middle East, Mediterranean and Africa Regional
Regional Updates MEDITERRANEAN/MIDDLE EAST/NORTH AFRICA/AFRICA – MEA REGION Algeria’s wheat crop, according to the recent FAO report, will be down by 500,000 MT to 2.5 MMT due to drought which will see wheat imports increase to 9 MMT. Barley production will be the same as 2022 at 1...
Middle East, Mediterranean and Africa Regional
Regional Updates MEDITERRANEAN/MIDDLE EAST/NORTH AFRICA/AFRICA – MEA REGION Pakistan reports outbreaks of Fall Armyworms on maize crops in some areas of the country. The government says that the crops are now too mature for normal pesticide sprays. Pakistan could face a shortage of up to...
Middle East, Mediterranean and Africa Regional
Regional Updates MEDITERRANEAN/MIDDLE EAST/NORTH AFRICA/AFRICA – MEA REGION Egypt is reportedly discussing the financing of purchases of Kazakh wheat with an unnamed Abu Dhabi based bank. Egypt’s GASC is said to be negotiating this due to the Russian set floor price for wheat, which...
Middle East, Mediterranean and Africa Regional
Regional Updates MEDITERRANEAN/MIDDLE EAST/NORTH AFRICA/AFRICA – MEA REGION Egypt grain importers, according to the USDA, have booked 71,000 MT of U.S. corn. This will be the first sale of U.S. corn to Egypt in quite a few months. Egypt and Israel are the destinations for the first Ukrain...
Middle East, Mediterranean and Africa Regional
Regional Updates MEDITERRANEAN/MIDDLE EAST/NORTH AFRICA/AFRICA – MEA REGION Israel reportedly signed a wheat supply agreement with Azerbaijan and Uzbekistan that will guarantee continued supply for Israel. It is reported to be a “long-term” arrangement. Israel will provide bot...
Middle East, Mediterranean and Africa Regional
Regional Updates MEDITERRANEAN/MIDDLE EAST/NORTH AFRICA/AFRICA – MEA REGION Egypt and India are discussing a possible arrangement for the trade of Egyptian fertilizer for Indian wheat – an arrangement that could benefit both countries. Egypt is the world’s fifth largest export...
Middle East, Mediterranean and Africa Regional
Regional Updates MEDITERRANEAN/MIDDLE EAST/NORTH AFRICA/AFRICA – MEA REGION Pakistan’s wheat harvest of 27.5 MMT this year is still about 2.6 MMT short of the country’s consumption. Some imports have been made but there is still concern that there will be wheat/wheat flour sho...
Middle East, Mediterranean and Africa Regional
Regional Updates MEDITERRANEAN/MIDDLE EAST/NORTH AFRICA/AFRICA – MEA REGION Egypt’s GASC said it is ready to act as a re-export center for Russian grain if Russia establishes a logistics center in the Suez Canal region. A grain hub in the region would act as a distribution center fo...
Middle East, Mediterranean and Africa Regional
Regional Updates MEDITERRANEAN/MIDDLE EAST/NORTH AFRICA/AFRICA – MEA REGION Morocco’s National Federation of Millers has advised that current wheat stocks will cover up to five months of cosumption and added that the current duty-free wheat imports through September will increase th...
WASDE Wheat
USDA reduced their estimate for U.S. wheat production to 1,734 million bushels, down 5 million from last month as lower Other Spring and White wheat production is partially offset by increases for Hard Red Winter (HRW), Soft Red Winter, and Durum. The all-wheat yield is 45.8 bushels per acre, d...
Middle East, Mediterranean and Africa Regional
Regional Updates MEDITERRANEAN/MIDDLE EAST/NORTH AFRICA/AFRICA – MEA REGION Turkey reports it will allow the export of both corn and durum wheat this year due to the bumper crop for both grains. Exports licenses have already been issued for durum wheat with corn licenses pending. Accordin...
Farm Fuel Cost Outlook
Over the past four weeks diesel prices have started to rally moving toward harvest season. The question remains whether this is temporary or a longer-term trend. From a regional perspective, Midwest distillate inventories for the week of 14 July were the highest recorded for the region s...
FOB Prices and Freight Rate App (Updated 7 December)
Ocean Freight Comments - 7 December 2023 By Jay O'Neil Commodity Consulting As the old saying goes, “what goes up, must come down.” Dry bulk markets were not kind to Capesize vessel owners this week as that sector witnessed an historic one-day decline on Thursday. Markets seem confu...
Interactive Ocean Freight Rates (Updated 7 December)
Ocean Freight Comments - 7 December 2023 By Jay O'Neil Commodity Consulting: As the old saying goes, “what goes up, must come down.” Dry bulk markets were not kind to Capesize vessel owners this week as that sector witnessed an historic one-day decline on Thursday. Markets seem conf...
Middle East, Mediterranean and Africa Regional
Regional Updates MEDITERRANEAN/MIDDLE EAST/NORTH AFRICA/AFRICA – MEA REGION Red Sea and Arabian Sea shipments in transit are being attacked by forces said to be from Yemen or Somalia. Attackers say that they are only attacking vessels with some relationship with Israel. Both Zim lines and...
Middle East, Mediterranean and Africa Regional
Regional Updates MEDITERRANEAN/MIDDLE EAST/NORTH AFRICA/AFRICA – MEA REGION Egypt’s Wadi Poultry, a division of Wadi Group, has seen the purchase of shares in the company by Mitsui & Company of Japan. No financial details of the share ownership have been released. Wadi Group say...
African Farming; European Farming
African Farming This is said to be the African Century. Over half the world’s population growth to 2050 will come from that region of the world. Yet its agriculture is woefully unable to feed the current population, let alone where it is headed. The average yield for maize this year in Af...
Middle East, Mediterranean and Africa Regional
Regional Updates MEDITERRANEAN/MIDDLE EAST/NORTH AFRICA/AFRICA – MEA REGION Pakistan’s wheat imports for 2023/24 will be lower according to a recent FAO report. 2023/24 wheat imports are seen as 1.8 MMT, which is below import levels of the last two years, although the five -year ave...
Middle East, Mediterranean and Africa Regional
Regional Updates MEDITERRANEAN/MIDDLE EAST/NORTH AFRICA/AFRICA – MEA REGION Jordan has begun shipments of grain to the West Bank as part of its 45,000 MT donation of wheat and grain. Bangladesh grain imports for 2023/24 are seen by the FAO as 6.1 MMT of wheat and 2.1 MMT of maize. Local p...
Middle East, Mediterranean and Africa Regional
Regional Updates MEDITERRANEAN/MIDDLE EAST/NORTH AFRICA/AFRICA – MEA REGION Israel said that any ships damaged by the current conflict will be fully compensated by the government. There has been no reported damage of any vessel from missiles/rockets. Shipping lines have been advised to ho...
Middle East, Mediterranean and Africa Regional
Regional Updates MEDITERRANEAN/MIDDLE EAST/NORTH AFRICA/AFRICA – MEA REGION Pakistan’s Economic Coordination Committee approved the importation of 1 MMT of wheat during 2023/24 – this in order to keep wheat reserve stock levels. Importation will be by the Trading Corporation o...
War’s Impact on Food
Israel is not the agricultural export powerhouse like Ukraine, but it is a supplier of high quality and high value fruits and vegetables. The country is 95 percent self-sufficient in food despite occupying semi-arid desert land. Much of this was achieved through intense effort at land improveme...
Middle East, Mediterranean and Africa Regional
Regional Updates MEDITERRANEAN/MIDDLE EAST/NORTH AFRICA/AFRICA – MEA REGION Iran has proposed to Russia that grain shipments can be made from Russia to third countries using “safe, alternative” Iran routes. Iranian officials say that this Russia/Iran route is yet to be used bu...
Sub-Saharan Africa’s Future
Analysts at Rabobank looked at future food needs in Sub-Saharan Africa and concluded that wheat imports will increase and so will the need for milling capacity. Although its wheat production has been expanding, the region already imports almost 73 percent of its wheat consumption. Its wheat yie...
Middle East, Mediterranean and Africa Regional
Regional Updates MEDITERRANEAN/MIDDLE EAST/NORTH AFRICA/AFRICA – MEA REGION Algeria’s wheat crop, according to the recent FAO report, will be down by 500,000 MT to 2.5 MMT due to drought which will see wheat imports increase to 9 MMT. Barley production will be the same as 2022 at 1...
Middle East, Mediterranean and Africa Regional
Regional Updates MEDITERRANEAN/MIDDLE EAST/NORTH AFRICA/AFRICA – MEA REGION Pakistan reports outbreaks of Fall Armyworms on maize crops in some areas of the country. The government says that the crops are now too mature for normal pesticide sprays. Pakistan could face a shortage of up to...
Middle East, Mediterranean and Africa Regional
Regional Updates MEDITERRANEAN/MIDDLE EAST/NORTH AFRICA/AFRICA – MEA REGION Egypt is reportedly discussing the financing of purchases of Kazakh wheat with an unnamed Abu Dhabi based bank. Egypt’s GASC is said to be negotiating this due to the Russian set floor price for wheat, which...
Middle East, Mediterranean and Africa Regional
Regional Updates MEDITERRANEAN/MIDDLE EAST/NORTH AFRICA/AFRICA – MEA REGION Egypt grain importers, according to the USDA, have booked 71,000 MT of U.S. corn. This will be the first sale of U.S. corn to Egypt in quite a few months. Egypt and Israel are the destinations for the first Ukrain...
Middle East, Mediterranean and Africa Regional
Regional Updates MEDITERRANEAN/MIDDLE EAST/NORTH AFRICA/AFRICA – MEA REGION Israel reportedly signed a wheat supply agreement with Azerbaijan and Uzbekistan that will guarantee continued supply for Israel. It is reported to be a “long-term” arrangement. Israel will provide bot...
Middle East, Mediterranean and Africa Regional
Regional Updates MEDITERRANEAN/MIDDLE EAST/NORTH AFRICA/AFRICA – MEA REGION Egypt and India are discussing a possible arrangement for the trade of Egyptian fertilizer for Indian wheat – an arrangement that could benefit both countries. Egypt is the world’s fifth largest export...
Middle East, Mediterranean and Africa Regional
Regional Updates MEDITERRANEAN/MIDDLE EAST/NORTH AFRICA/AFRICA – MEA REGION Pakistan’s wheat harvest of 27.5 MMT this year is still about 2.6 MMT short of the country’s consumption. Some imports have been made but there is still concern that there will be wheat/wheat flour sho...
Middle East, Mediterranean and Africa Regional
Regional Updates MEDITERRANEAN/MIDDLE EAST/NORTH AFRICA/AFRICA – MEA REGION Egypt’s GASC said it is ready to act as a re-export center for Russian grain if Russia establishes a logistics center in the Suez Canal region. A grain hub in the region would act as a distribution center fo...
Middle East, Mediterranean and Africa Regional
Regional Updates MEDITERRANEAN/MIDDLE EAST/NORTH AFRICA/AFRICA – MEA REGION Morocco’s National Federation of Millers has advised that current wheat stocks will cover up to five months of cosumption and added that the current duty-free wheat imports through September will increase th...
WASDE Wheat
USDA reduced their estimate for U.S. wheat production to 1,734 million bushels, down 5 million from last month as lower Other Spring and White wheat production is partially offset by increases for Hard Red Winter (HRW), Soft Red Winter, and Durum. The all-wheat yield is 45.8 bushels per acre, d...
Middle East, Mediterranean and Africa Regional
Regional Updates MEDITERRANEAN/MIDDLE EAST/NORTH AFRICA/AFRICA – MEA REGION Turkey reports it will allow the export of both corn and durum wheat this year due to the bumper crop for both grains. Exports licenses have already been issued for durum wheat with corn licenses pending. Accordin...
Farm Fuel Cost Outlook
Over the past four weeks diesel prices have started to rally moving toward harvest season. The question remains whether this is temporary or a longer-term trend. From a regional perspective, Midwest distillate inventories for the week of 14 July were the highest recorded for the region s...