The Black Sea grain deal, which allows the safe passage of grain through three Ukrainian ports, was extended on May 17 by two months, a shorter time than expected. “The corridor is definitely not working as it was in the beginning,” said Jan Dieleman, president of Cargill’s ocean transportation business. “It is more focused on the smaller (ship) now. I do think with some quite big crops in Brazil, you might also see some of the demand being switched from the Black Sea into Brazil at some point… on corn, for instance”. Record production of corn and soybean in Brazil in the current 2022/23 season has led to strong demand for vessels in South America.
Source: Reuters/Nova Cana (*Translated by Ia Niani)