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Shipping and logistics
IN BRIEF
RUSSIA: Leading Ukrainian sunflower oil producer and exporter Kernel has sold its 50% stake in Taman Grain Terminal Holdings, a joint venture owning Taman Grain Terminal Complex (TGTC) in Russia, latifundist. com reported on 23 March.
Kernel’s 50% stake in the venture was purchased by Demetra Holding, a subsidiary of VTB Group. Glencore Agriculture retained its 50% share in Taman Grain Terminal Holdings.
TGTC is a deepwater grain export terminal in Taman port, Russia.
Kernel and Glencore had acquired 100% of the shares in TGTC in 2012 from specialised fats and vegetable oil/mayonnaise producer EFKO Group.
Shipping and logistics disrupted by COVID-19
Transport restrictions put in place to curb the spread of the COVID-19 virus have caused serious disruption to the flow of trade, according to a Malaysian Palm Oil Council (MPOC) report.
The vegetable oils and fats sector was one of the most affected industries as it was heavily reliant on shipping for flow of goods, the report said.
World Grain wrote on 1 April that the physical movement of grains and soyabeans between buyers and sellers had continued relatively smoothly in terms of logistics and shipping because their transport had, so far, been excluded from COVID-19 related restrictions.
Dry bulk shipping freight rates fell initially as China quarantined large parts of the country in February but rates for vessels used in grain transport (those below Capesize) recovered once China got back on its feet. Exports from the Black Sea and Brazil also helped prop up freight rates for smaller bulk carriers through the first three months of 2020.
“As we enter the Latin American grain export season, long-haul soyabean shipments from Brazil to China will drive an uptick in Panamax bulker demand,” World Grain quoted shipping analyst MSI as saying.
UkrAgroConsult freight market analyst Maksym Kharchenko said new layers of bureaucracy and additional safety and quarantine procedures would impede grain logistics in the coming months. “Delivery periods tend to be increasing due to quarantine measures at ports. Many countries have introduced additional screening and mandatory 14-day quarantine rules for vessels coming from certain countries. This may increase the cost of shipment in some cases because of more time charter-chargeable days.”
MSI said the cost of shipping over the next six months would be determined by whether commodity producers in key exporting countries such as Australia, Brazil and Indonesia continued to escape the worst ravages of COVID-19.
Low river levels hit Paraguay’s soyabean exports
Paraguayan exporters are struggling to ship soyabeans due to low water levels in sections of the Paraná and Paraguay rivers, says Juan Carlos Munoz, head of Paraguay’s maritime and shipping chamber CAFyM.
More than 120 barges loaded with soyabeans had been affected by extremely low water levels in a certain section of the Paraná River, Munoz said in a 17 April AgriCensus report.
The barges, which usually transported 1,600 tonnes of soyabeans, needed at least 1.1m for navigation but the water level in the affected area was about 30cm. Paraguayan exporters usually shipped nearly 30% of their soya exports via this section of the Paraná River.
Munoz said the only solution would be if the Itaipu dam, which was controlled by Brazil and Paraguay, could free up water volumes to increase water levels in this area.
Navigation also presented logistics hurdles at the Paraguay River, he added.
Some soyabean producers from regions including Alto Paraná, Caazapá, Itapuã, and Misiones were transporting soyabeans via lorries to the Asuncion area, to reach other ports in the region, he said.
“This is increasing logistics costs for producers as they have to pay an additional $8/ tonne to reach the Asuncion region,” Munoz said.
Paraguay was set to produce more than 10M tonnes of soyabeans in the 2019/20 crop year, with exports representing nearly 75% of total production, AgriCensus said.
Barges are used in Paraguay to ship soyabean to ports in Argentina, Brazil and Uruguay. Photo: Aranha, Pixabay Paraguay’s soyabeans are shipped along the Paraná and Paraguay rivers
Bunge truck app handling 45% of its grain freight in Brazil Global agribusiness Bunge has launched an app which allows truck drivers to schedule grain freight in Brazil via their mobiles.
Bunge said it handled more than 25M tonnes/year of commodities in Brazil, with 320,000 drivers involved in its logistics operations. The Vector app was now responsible for about 45% of the total cargo handled by the company by road. By the end of 2020, around 50,000 drivers were expected to use the app, which was introduced gradually since January 2020.
The tool gathers information about Bunge’s cargo available for handling: pick-up and drop-off locations, pick-up and delivery timelines, and the quantity per tonne. Registered drivers can select a freight and schedule the load in a few seconds, without visiting one of the company’s branches to withdraw the load order.
Bunge logistics director Makoto Yokoo said the app was also a great ally to drivers in the current COVID-19 pandemic by reducing face-to-face exposure.
“We have already seen an increase in the number of active users since the last two weeks of March. Today, about 35% of the total drivers who downloaded the app are active users of the tool compared to 20% in early March.”
STORAGE HANDLING SHIPPING
Koole is an international storage company providing logistics solutions. Handling the entire logistics chain for its customers
Robert Guijs, +31 (0) 613 304 360, r.guijs@koole.com Edwin Dominicus,+31 (0) 612 835 180, e.dominicus@koole.com Sidney Snijders, +31 (0) 651 178 600, s.snijders@koole.com
MORE INFO NEEDED? PLEASE CONTACT
+31 (0) 613 304 360, r.guijs@koole.com Edwin Dominicus,+31 (0) 612 835 180, e.dominicus@koole.com Sidney Snijders, +31 (0) 651 178 600, s.snijders@koole.com
9 TERMINALS IN EUROPE
TOTAL STORAGE CAPACITY
3.814.188 M3
3 COASTERS & 11 INLAND BARGES
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