Market News

Ukraine War Drives Port of Constanta Rapid Container Growth

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Port of Constanta in Romania, which is located at the crossroads of the trade routes linking markets of the landlocked countries of Eastern Europe with the Caucasus, Middle East and Central Asia, became a cargo-transit hub for all kinds of transport including ro-ro, according to a recent report by Informall BG, a cargo analytical bureau in the Black Sea region.

Under normal market conditions, the port of Constanta’s annual container turnover growth rate is at 2-3%. However, Informall data shows that Constanta increased its laden container volume by 10,4% in the first half of 2022 vs the same period in 2021.

The reason behind it is the war in Ukraine, according to Informall, which noted that while Ukrainian container terminals remain blocked, a large share of container traffic destined to Ukraine is moving to Constanta followed by transit-truck or train delivery to a final destination in Ukraine.

It is important to note that 2M Alliance continues dominating over Romanian container marketplace handling almost 40% of total laden traffic in Constanta. The two partners of the largest container alliance in the world, Maersk and MSC, gained 6,75% of additional container volume in H1 2022 vs H1 2021 in Constanta. Similarly to Romania, 2M Alliance controls 47% of Ukrainian container traffic on the Black Sea.

www.container-news.com

Ukrainian Walnut Production Projected to Drop to 95,500 MT for MY 2022/23

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The USDA projects Ukraine’s walnut production decreasing to 95,500 metric tons (MT) for marketing year (MY) 2022/23 based on a combination of suboptimal weather conditions and some production areas in Russian-occupied areas. Exports were slow for two consecutive marketing years (MY) in a row: MY2020/21 – because of quality issues and administrative barriers by Turkey; and MY2021/22 – due to constrained logistics stemming from Russia’s invasion.

Domestic consumption is expected to decrease for MY2021/22 and remain the same level for MY2022/23 as result of Russian invasion. Although, some of the drop in consumption might be partially compensated by the observed decrease for imported tree nuts (predominantly almonds and cashews) and expected decrease in prices for home-grown walnuts. A drop in domestic prices is expected based on large walnut stocks accumulated on the market due to reduced exports.

Post estimates walnut consumption at around 30,000 MT both for MY2022/23 and MY2021/22, both of these estimates are nine percent lower than the MY2019/20 estimate, which could be considered as pre-conflict baseline for walnut consumption in Ukraine.

Click here to read the full report.

www.freshplaza.com

New Program Should Increase Georgian Agri Exports to High-Value Markets

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The United States Agency for International Development Agriculture Programme, Enterprise Georgia and the Rural Development Agency of the country have launched a new programme to establish export market connections for Georgian companies involved in agriculture business.

Enterprise Georgia announced the initiative on Monday, saying it would aim to connect Georgian producers with interested buyers in Germany and Persian Gulf countries. It also noted about 80 export-oriented enterprises producing blueberry and walnut crops and processing food were selected for the programme.

As part of the move, a “large international consulting company” will work closely with the Georgian companies to help them formulate their export offer, the Agency said.

In addition, the programme aims to help the Georgian companies find buyers in target export markets and establish business deals.

“The programme will support dozens of Georgian companies and give them the opportunity to start exporting their products to high-value export markets”, the Agency said.

agenda.ge

 

Ukraine’s Agriculture Exports to Double in Next Few Months Now Ports Open

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Ukraine’s agricultural exports could rise to 6 million-6.5 million mt in October, double the volume seen in July, as its sea ports gradually reopen, the country’s agriculture minister said on Monday. Ukraine is one of the world’s biggest exporter of grains, oilseeds and vegetable oils, but its exports have slumped this year, driving up global food prices, as Russia’s invasion destroyed some agricultural land and the country’s Black Sea ports were closed off. Exports have picked up since three Black Sea ports were unblocked at the end of July under a deal between Moscow and Kyiv, brokered by the United Nations and Turkey.

Ukraine’s 2022 grain harvest is expected to fall to 50 million mt from a record 86 million mt in 2021, according to official estimates. Agriculture Minister Mykola Solsky told Reuters on Monday that the harvest could include 19 million mt of wheat, half of which would be exported, and 25 million-27 million mt of corn. (more…)

European Union to Suspend Tariffs on Ukraine Imports for One Year

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At the end of April, the European Commission proposed a one-year suspension of import duties on all Ukrainian goods not covered by an existing free trade deal to help the country’s economy during the war with Russia. The measures will, in particular, apply to fruit and vegetables, subject to minimum price requirements, agricultural products facing quotas, and certain industrial goods, tariffs on which were only due to being phased out by the end of 2022. That phase-out, set out in the 2016 EU-Ukraine free trade agreement, applies to fertilizers, aluminum products, and cars.

On Wednesday, Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky claimed to have discussed the proposal with EC president Ursula von der Leyen and wanted to express his gratitude: “Right now, this will allow us to maintain economic activity in Ukraine, our national production, as much as possible. But this decision needs to be considered not only in the Ukrainian context. Sufficient export of our products to European and global markets will be a significant tool against crises.”

The proposal will now need to be agreed on by the European Parliament and EU governments to come into force.

freshplaza.com

Strawberries are Getting Cheaper in Ukraine

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The season of strawberries in Ukraine began a few weeks ago, but strawberry growers are already forced to reduce prices. So far, only some farms in the southern regions of the country have started harvesting in heated greenhouses.

At the same time, if the prices for the first batches of strawberries were at an average of 200 UAH/kg ($6.84/kg), today the growers were forced to reduce prices to 150-180 UAH/kg ($5.13-6 ,15/kg), which is on average 25% cheaper than a week earlier.

Producers believe that the downward price trend will only intensify in the near future, since relatively cheap strawberries grown in Greece and Spain are offered in sufficient volumes on the market at 120-150 UAH/kg ($4.10-5.13/kg). A rather low demand also has a negative impact on prices in this segment. At the same time, most producers of strawberries have problems with the sales due to hostilities in some regions of the country. Some consumers were also forced to leave the country.

We add that the main offer on the Ukrainian market today is greenhouse strawberries. According to growers’ forecasts, open field strawberries will go on sale in the end of May.

east-fruit.com

Prices for Last year’s Cabbage Went up in Ukraine

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Most Ukrainian producers have announced the completion of sales of cabbage of the 2021 harvest. Today the supply of last year’s cabbage on the market has significantly decreased, while the demand is quite high. Thus, farmers, who still have cabbage from the 2021 crop in their stocks, began to raise prices.

According to the project’s daily monitoring data, prices for last year’s cabbage in Ukrainian farms rose by an average of 19% over the week. Today, farmers sell it at 14-18 UAH/kg ($0.48-0.62/kg).

First of all, a significant reduction in the supply of cabbage on the market caused by the depletion of stocks in the farms allows producers to raise prices. At the same time, the demand has grown much this week, which also keeps prices up.

It should be noted that current prices for cabbage harvested in 2021 in Ukraine are already on average 2.8 times higher than last year.

east-fruit.com

Russia Faced with Drop in Cargo Traffic and Container Deficit

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Russia is bracing for a sharp decline in cargo flows and a deficit of containers after major international container shipping lines halted operations in the country due to Moscow’s military campaign in Ukraine.

The world’s three largest container shipping lines, Denmark’s Maersk, France’s CMA CGM and Swiss-based MSC, have suspended their bookings to and from Russia after Moscow sent troops into Ukraine on Feb. 24, sparking a flurry of Western sanctions.

The exit of major container shipping companies — which transport most manufactured goods around the world and are essential to international trade — is expected to cause a major decline in shipments if no alternatives to these firms are found soon, according to the head of Delo Group, Russia’s largest container operator.

freshplaza.com

Onion Prices in Ukraine are Falling Due to Imports

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Ukrainian onion growers are forced to reduce the prices. According to them, the reason for this price trend was the increase in the supply of onions on the market, caused by increased onion imports from Poland and the Netherlands.

As a result, today onions from local farms are offered at 10-14 UAH/kg ($0.34-0.48/kg), which is on average 14% cheaper than at the end of the last work week. At the same time, most market operators note that almost 80% of onions on the domestic market of the country are imported. The reason is that the main stocks of onions are currently concentrated in the southern regions of the country, which, due to constant hostilities, cannot ship to other regions.

Meanwhile, according to the growers themselves, the quality of onions in storage continues to deteriorate rapidly, which, in turn, may lead to a further decrease in selling prices in the segment.

Despite the reduction in the price of onions, today they cost on average 2.9 times more than in the same period last year in Ukraine. Key market players explain such a price difference by a break in supply chains in most of the country, which greatly complicates the supply of both local and imported onions.

east-fruit.com

Russia Cancels all Restrictions on Supply of Tomatoes from Azerbaijan

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Russia has canceled all restrictions on the supply of Azerbaijani tomatoes. Russian Ambassador to Azerbaijan Mikhail Bocharnikov said: “Azerbaijani tomatoes are supplied to Russia easily. The Russian Export Center has tools to support the import of Azerbaijani goods.”

The ambassador added that Azerbaijan exported tomatoes worth $1 billion to Russia in 2021. “Azerbaijan’s export to Russia increased by 38 percent during two months of 2022 compared to the same period of 2021 and reached $123 million,” Bocharnikov said.

freshplaza.com