The transport of grain is not easy everywhere. The fact that there are problems in Ukraine does not come as a surprise, but is once again confirmed. Carriers in the Panama Canal and the Rhine are dealing with too little and too much water respectively, although the worst seems to have been suffered. In the meantime, China continues to buy happily, according to the new export figures for November.
The transport of grain is not easy everywhere. The fact that there are problems in Ukraine does not come as a surprise, but is once again confirmed. Carriers in the Panama Canal and the Rhine are dealing with too little and too much water, respectively. In the meantime, China continues to buy eagerly, according to the new export figures for November.
Wheat contracts for the 2023 harvest on the Matif are up €1 at the time of writing. On the CBoT, wheat is down 1%. Corn is also down, but here the loss is somewhat smaller at 0,6%. Soy is moving mostly sideways with price swings below the whole cent at writing.
The transport of agricultural goods to and from Ukraine remains fraught with obstacles. According to the Ukrainian Institute of Agricultural Economics, Ukraine exported $19,6 billion worth of agricultural products from January to November. That is 7% less than in the same months in 2022. Agricultural goods remain important and, according to Mykola Pugachev of the Ukrainian institute, represent approximately 60% of total exports. Grain, oilseeds, vegetable oil, meat and by-products account for 87% of exported agricultural goods. Ukraine's food imports rose 2023% to $16 billion in the first eleven months of 6,2. Stopping the Black Sea grain deal and blockades on the Polish-Ukrainian border make the logistics process difficult, difficult to predict and expensive, according to Pugachev.
It is unlikely that the grain deal will be revived soon. Russian Agriculture Minister Dmitry Patrushev told the Russian news agency RIA that the grain deal is mainly a political decision. “Our grain export volumes, taking into account the phasing out of the grain agreement, have not decreased at all, they have even increased slightly,” Patrushev told RIA.
Water levels
The number of available places on the Panama Canal will be expanded from the current 22 to 24 from mid-January. Due to drought in Central America, there is insufficient supply of water, the locks can open less often. This results in long waiting times for shipping or ships have to take the long route. The Panama Canal is an important route for grain exports from Brazil to Asia.
On the Rhine, a high water level actually caused problems. As a result, ships cannot pass under all bridges and for safety reasons the German authorities have closed parts of the south of the river to shipping. The river will be released again from Tuesday, December 19, according to the German Public Works Department.
China is making waves in the grain market. This is confirmed in the customs figures that have been published. Last November, 3,59 million tons of corn were imported, an increase of 384% compared to the same month a year earlier. Barley imports were 130% higher at 2,4 million tonnes and wheat was a third lower at 660.000 tonnes in November. In the first eleven months of 2023, China imported 22,18 million tons of corn, 11,49 million tons of wheat and 9,67 million tons of barley. That is 12%, 29% and 83% more than last year respectively.