On the 39th week in the Azov region the freight rates remain on the previous week level. So, the shipment of 3000 mts of wheat from Azov to Marmara sea port will cost abt USD 22. The cessation of growth in freight rates and a decrease in the number of shipments can be explained by the low activity of Turkish buyers in the last two weeks. At the same time, rates to Eastern Mediterranean countries continue to grow gradually, due to the increased interest of the largest players in the region in Russian and Ukrainian grain. In addition, there is an increasing activity of Italian traders, which has led to an increase in the amount of goods towards Adriatic Sea.
In the Caspian region the situation hasn’t changed, there is a small flow of goods from Astrakhan to Iran, but it is too early to talk about increasing activity in this region. Meanwhile, most of the grain has already been harvested in Kazakhstan, which is expected to improve trade in the region in the near future. Freight rates remain at last week’s level.
As for the Baltic region, here the amount of grain shipments began to decline, which affected the slow drop in freight rates. On the deep sea market, however, there is an increase in demand for handy and supra vessels.
With a decrease in the activity of grain cargo shipments to Turkey by sea-river vessels, there is a demand for vessels with a deadweight of 10K, as well as for vessels of the handy / supramax class on the deep sea market of Black Sea region. This is due to the fact that Turkey and some Mediterranean countries have begun to actively purchase new crops in large quantities, since the freight rate, given the current market trends, is the most attractive for exporters / importers.
It can also be noted that last week’s tendencies for coal shipments have been preserved and companies continue to actively purchase this product. The only downside is seen in coal shipments to Lebanon due to the recent explosion. The government, for the sake of the country’s security, is trying to take all sorts of security measures, in connection with which, the import of dangerous goods into this country has so far been suspended.