Middle East, Mediterranean and Africa Regional Analysis
Regional Updates MEDITERRANEAN/MIDDLE EAST/NORTH AFRICA/AFRICA – MEA REGION Egyptian government officials said the “dollar crisis” has now been corrected and that foreign payments are being made by banks and delayed goods are clearing customs. Extra efforts have been made to r...
FOB Prices and Freight Rate App (Updated 27 Jan.)
Ocean Freight Comments - 27 January 2023 By Jay O'Neil Commodity Consulting It is the Lunar/Chinese New Year holiday period and all is quiet on the ocean freight front. Markets are thin and a bit soft, “sluggish” is a term commonly heard. The Baltic indices are a little lower with m...
Interactive Ocean Freight Rates (Updated 27 Jan.)
Ocean Freight Comments - 27 January 2023 By Jay O'Neil Commodity Consulting It is the Lunar/Chinese New Year holiday period and all is quiet on the ocean freight front. Markets are thin and a bit soft, “sluggish” is a term commonly heard. The Baltic indices are a little lower with m...
Middle East, Mediterranean and Africa Regional Analysis
Regional Updates MEDITERRANEAN/MIDDLE EAST/NORTH AFRICA/AFRICA – MEA REGION Turkish authorities have decided, in their infinite wisdom, to ban the importation of any grain or coproduct containing GMO trait MON810 while allowing the importation if the trait is the stacked GMO trait of MON8...
Middle East, Mediterranean and Africa Regional Analysis
Regional Updates MEDITERRANEAN/MIDDLE EAST/NORTH AFRICA/AFRICA – MEA REGION Iran reduced its import duty on oilseeds, including soybeans, from 9 to 1 percent in order to control rising prices in Iran. Soybean imports are expected to be about 2.35 MMT for 2022/23. India expects that its 20...
Middle East, Mediterranean and Africa Regional Analysis
Regional Updates MEDITERRANEAN/MIDDLE EAST/NORTH AFRICA/AFRICA – MEA REGION Malta’s Kordin Grain Terminal, in Valetta port, had a minor silo fire this week that was said to be due to fermenting alfalfa causing internal combustion. Losses were limited to about 1,000 MT. Kordin has be...
Holes in Food Security
The population in Africa is projected to nearly double from 1.34 billion in 2020 to 2.5 billion by 2050. By contrast, the rest of the world’s population over that same period is expected to increase by less than 10 percent. Over that period, Sub-Saharan Africa will go from 16.7 percent of...
Middle East, Mediterranean and Africa Regional Analysis
Regional Updates MEDITERRANEAN/MIDDLE EAST/NORTH AFRICA/AFRICA – MEA REGION On 31 December, Turkey’s official Gazette published details of the approval of MON810 maize for a new period of 10 years for importation for feed use. Turkey’s government had “reimposed” a...
Middle East, Mediterranean and Africa Regional Analysis
Regional Updates MEDITERRANEAN/MIDDLE EAST/NORTH AFRICA/AFRICA – MEA REGION Egypt has received a $3 billion 46-month loan from the IMF with extra support of $14 billion expected from other sources. The change to a flexible exchange rate system is expected to “preserve microeconomic...
Remodeling U.S.-Africa Relationship
Today kicks off the Biden White House hosting leaders from Africa for the U.S.-Africa Leaders’ Summit. Officials from the region want an extension of the tariff-free trade benefits of the African Growth and Opportunity Act, and more investment. The U.S. is calculating how to better integr...
Middle East, Mediterranean and Africa Regional Analysis
Regional Updates MEDITERRANEAN/MIDDLE EAST/NORTH AFRICA/AFRICA – MEA REGION MENA region grain importers have been assured by Ukraine shippers that the recent attacks on power systems in Odessa will not affect port operations as grain facilities have alternate energy supplies. Turkey and I...
Middle East, Mediterranean and Africa Regional Analysis
Regional Updates MEDITERRANEAN/MIDDLE EAST/NORTH AFRICA/AFRICA – MEA REGION Jordan recently received very good rainfalls which the Ag Ministry says brought long awaited relief to farmers. Pastures should also be much better this year, which will be very beneficial to the dairy industry. T...
Middle East, Mediterranean and Africa Regional Analysis
Regional Updates MEDITERRANEAN/MIDDLE EAST/NORTH AFRICA/AFRICA – MEA REGION Sri Lanka will benefit from a program by Thailand and the United Nations to supply quality maize seed to help with increasing food security – the maize will be used in the livestock industry when harvested...
Middle East, Mediterranean and Africa Regional Analysis
Regional Updates MEDITERRANEAN/MIDDLE EAST/NORTH AFRICA/AFRICA – MEA REGION Egypt’s COP27 conference has set a new “123 Pledge” program that is directed at reducing food waste in production, handling, retail and consumer levels. Fourteen percent of food is said to be los...
Middle East, Mediterranean and Africa Regional Analysis
Regional Updates MEDITERRANEAN/MIDDLE EAST/NORTH AFRICA/AFRICA – MEA REGION MEA Region grain importers from the Black Sea are watching with interest the current meetings between the UN and Russia on the extension of the “grain corridor”. The current agreement expires 19 Novemb...
Middle East, Mediterranean and Africa Regional Analysis
Regional Updates MEDITERRANEAN/MIDDLE EAST/NORTH AFRICA/AFRICA – MEA REGION Iran said it is willing to make land available in Bandar Abbas port for a Kazakh grain transshipment facility. The facility is expected to be built using private sector investments from Kazakhstan. Iran is expecte...
Middle East, Mediterranean and Africa Regional Analysis
Regional Updates MEDITERRANEAN/MIDDLE EAST/NORTH AFRICA/AFRICA – MEA REGION MEA region grain importers are going to suffer greatly if the Russian action ending the Ukraine grain export corridor continues. Ukraine says that the end to the corridor will affect 218 ships --- 95 that are wait...
Middle East, Mediterranean and Africa Regional Analysis
Regional Updates MEDITERRANEAN/MIDDLE EAST/NORTH AFRICA/AFRICA – MEA REGION Pakistan’s planting of wheat may be delayed by at least a month in a large area of the country due to the slow recovery of farmlands from the recent flooding. Estimates say that the flooding could have cause...
Middle East, Mediterranean and Africa Regional Analysis
This is an abbreviated report due to analysts’ travel obligations. Regional Food Crisis A trifecta of problems including soaring interest rates, high commodity prices and a depreciating national currencies are threatening food security across the Middle East/Africa region. Many of the cou...
Future Iranian Opportunity
Iran is a major importer of grains and vegetable oil, but its estrangement is getting worse. Now the EU has joined the U.S. in imposing sanctions on the Islamic Republic. The watershed was the death last month of Mahsa Amini, a 22-year-old woman who died in the custody of Tehran’s moralit...
Middle East, Mediterranean and Africa Regional Analysis
Regional Updates MEDITERRANEAN/MIDDLE EAST/NORTH AFRICA/AFRICA – MEA REGION Turkish officials said they want the Ukraine/Russia grain corridor agreement to be extended when it expires in November and that they are in discussions with both Russia and Ukraine. Jordan’s government anno...
Middle East, Mediterranean and Africa Regional Analysis
Regional Updates MEDITERRANEAN/MIDDLE EAST/NORTH AFRICA/AFRICA – MEA REGION African grain importers from Russia may find that business is easier as Russia is looking at the possibility of providing trade financing to buyers through EXIM BANK and the Russian export credit agency. While the...
Middle East, Mediterranean and Africa Regional Analysis
Regional Updates MEDITERRANEAN/MIDDLE EAST/NORTH AFRICA/AFRICA – MEA REGION Iran and Pakistan are expected to benefit from Azerbaijan lifting its export ban on grains. Talks with both countries are planned for next week to discuss shipping logistics and additional export opportunities. Pa...
Rain More Important than Area
Iraq intends to expand the area planted to wheat by 20 percent, but production may not follow. But like much of the Middle East, wheat output is highly dependent on rainfall. Production in Iraq has been far more volatile than the area under sowing. Climate change may worsen crop output. W...
Middle East, Mediterranean and Africa Regional Analysis
Regional Updates MEDITERRANEAN/MIDDLE EAST/NORTH AFRICA/AFRICA – MEA REGION Egyptian government officials said the “dollar crisis” has now been corrected and that foreign payments are being made by banks and delayed goods are clearing customs. Extra efforts have been made to r...
FOB Prices and Freight Rate App (Updated 27 Jan.)
Ocean Freight Comments - 27 January 2023 By Jay O'Neil Commodity Consulting It is the Lunar/Chinese New Year holiday period and all is quiet on the ocean freight front. Markets are thin and a bit soft, “sluggish” is a term commonly heard. The Baltic indices are a little lower with m...
Interactive Ocean Freight Rates (Updated 27 Jan.)
Ocean Freight Comments - 27 January 2023 By Jay O'Neil Commodity Consulting It is the Lunar/Chinese New Year holiday period and all is quiet on the ocean freight front. Markets are thin and a bit soft, “sluggish” is a term commonly heard. The Baltic indices are a little lower with m...
Middle East, Mediterranean and Africa Regional Analysis
Regional Updates MEDITERRANEAN/MIDDLE EAST/NORTH AFRICA/AFRICA – MEA REGION Turkish authorities have decided, in their infinite wisdom, to ban the importation of any grain or coproduct containing GMO trait MON810 while allowing the importation if the trait is the stacked GMO trait of MON8...
Middle East, Mediterranean and Africa Regional Analysis
Regional Updates MEDITERRANEAN/MIDDLE EAST/NORTH AFRICA/AFRICA – MEA REGION Iran reduced its import duty on oilseeds, including soybeans, from 9 to 1 percent in order to control rising prices in Iran. Soybean imports are expected to be about 2.35 MMT for 2022/23. India expects that its 20...
Middle East, Mediterranean and Africa Regional Analysis
Regional Updates MEDITERRANEAN/MIDDLE EAST/NORTH AFRICA/AFRICA – MEA REGION Malta’s Kordin Grain Terminal, in Valetta port, had a minor silo fire this week that was said to be due to fermenting alfalfa causing internal combustion. Losses were limited to about 1,000 MT. Kordin has be...
Holes in Food Security
The population in Africa is projected to nearly double from 1.34 billion in 2020 to 2.5 billion by 2050. By contrast, the rest of the world’s population over that same period is expected to increase by less than 10 percent. Over that period, Sub-Saharan Africa will go from 16.7 percent of...
Middle East, Mediterranean and Africa Regional Analysis
Regional Updates MEDITERRANEAN/MIDDLE EAST/NORTH AFRICA/AFRICA – MEA REGION On 31 December, Turkey’s official Gazette published details of the approval of MON810 maize for a new period of 10 years for importation for feed use. Turkey’s government had “reimposed” a...
Middle East, Mediterranean and Africa Regional Analysis
Regional Updates MEDITERRANEAN/MIDDLE EAST/NORTH AFRICA/AFRICA – MEA REGION Egypt has received a $3 billion 46-month loan from the IMF with extra support of $14 billion expected from other sources. The change to a flexible exchange rate system is expected to “preserve microeconomic...
Remodeling U.S.-Africa Relationship
Today kicks off the Biden White House hosting leaders from Africa for the U.S.-Africa Leaders’ Summit. Officials from the region want an extension of the tariff-free trade benefits of the African Growth and Opportunity Act, and more investment. The U.S. is calculating how to better integr...
Middle East, Mediterranean and Africa Regional Analysis
Regional Updates MEDITERRANEAN/MIDDLE EAST/NORTH AFRICA/AFRICA – MEA REGION MENA region grain importers have been assured by Ukraine shippers that the recent attacks on power systems in Odessa will not affect port operations as grain facilities have alternate energy supplies. Turkey and I...
Middle East, Mediterranean and Africa Regional Analysis
Regional Updates MEDITERRANEAN/MIDDLE EAST/NORTH AFRICA/AFRICA – MEA REGION Jordan recently received very good rainfalls which the Ag Ministry says brought long awaited relief to farmers. Pastures should also be much better this year, which will be very beneficial to the dairy industry. T...
Middle East, Mediterranean and Africa Regional Analysis
Regional Updates MEDITERRANEAN/MIDDLE EAST/NORTH AFRICA/AFRICA – MEA REGION Sri Lanka will benefit from a program by Thailand and the United Nations to supply quality maize seed to help with increasing food security – the maize will be used in the livestock industry when harvested...
Middle East, Mediterranean and Africa Regional Analysis
Regional Updates MEDITERRANEAN/MIDDLE EAST/NORTH AFRICA/AFRICA – MEA REGION Egypt’s COP27 conference has set a new “123 Pledge” program that is directed at reducing food waste in production, handling, retail and consumer levels. Fourteen percent of food is said to be los...
Middle East, Mediterranean and Africa Regional Analysis
Regional Updates MEDITERRANEAN/MIDDLE EAST/NORTH AFRICA/AFRICA – MEA REGION MEA Region grain importers from the Black Sea are watching with interest the current meetings between the UN and Russia on the extension of the “grain corridor”. The current agreement expires 19 Novemb...
Middle East, Mediterranean and Africa Regional Analysis
Regional Updates MEDITERRANEAN/MIDDLE EAST/NORTH AFRICA/AFRICA – MEA REGION Iran said it is willing to make land available in Bandar Abbas port for a Kazakh grain transshipment facility. The facility is expected to be built using private sector investments from Kazakhstan. Iran is expecte...
Middle East, Mediterranean and Africa Regional Analysis
Regional Updates MEDITERRANEAN/MIDDLE EAST/NORTH AFRICA/AFRICA – MEA REGION MEA region grain importers are going to suffer greatly if the Russian action ending the Ukraine grain export corridor continues. Ukraine says that the end to the corridor will affect 218 ships --- 95 that are wait...
Middle East, Mediterranean and Africa Regional Analysis
Regional Updates MEDITERRANEAN/MIDDLE EAST/NORTH AFRICA/AFRICA – MEA REGION Pakistan’s planting of wheat may be delayed by at least a month in a large area of the country due to the slow recovery of farmlands from the recent flooding. Estimates say that the flooding could have cause...
Middle East, Mediterranean and Africa Regional Analysis
This is an abbreviated report due to analysts’ travel obligations. Regional Food Crisis A trifecta of problems including soaring interest rates, high commodity prices and a depreciating national currencies are threatening food security across the Middle East/Africa region. Many of the cou...
Future Iranian Opportunity
Iran is a major importer of grains and vegetable oil, but its estrangement is getting worse. Now the EU has joined the U.S. in imposing sanctions on the Islamic Republic. The watershed was the death last month of Mahsa Amini, a 22-year-old woman who died in the custody of Tehran’s moralit...
Middle East, Mediterranean and Africa Regional Analysis
Regional Updates MEDITERRANEAN/MIDDLE EAST/NORTH AFRICA/AFRICA – MEA REGION Turkish officials said they want the Ukraine/Russia grain corridor agreement to be extended when it expires in November and that they are in discussions with both Russia and Ukraine. Jordan’s government anno...
Middle East, Mediterranean and Africa Regional Analysis
Regional Updates MEDITERRANEAN/MIDDLE EAST/NORTH AFRICA/AFRICA – MEA REGION African grain importers from Russia may find that business is easier as Russia is looking at the possibility of providing trade financing to buyers through EXIM BANK and the Russian export credit agency. While the...
Middle East, Mediterranean and Africa Regional Analysis
Regional Updates MEDITERRANEAN/MIDDLE EAST/NORTH AFRICA/AFRICA – MEA REGION Iran and Pakistan are expected to benefit from Azerbaijan lifting its export ban on grains. Talks with both countries are planned for next week to discuss shipping logistics and additional export opportunities. Pa...
Rain More Important than Area
Iraq intends to expand the area planted to wheat by 20 percent, but production may not follow. But like much of the Middle East, wheat output is highly dependent on rainfall. Production in Iraq has been far more volatile than the area under sowing. Climate change may worsen crop output. W...