Andrey Sizov
24.04.2024
On Tuesday, U.S. grain futures continued to rise. The July SRW wheat contract closed at $6.03/bu ($221/mt; up 2.6% compared to Monday). The May Euronext wheat contract fell to €209.50/mt ($224/mt; down 2.6%). The July U.S. corn contract closed at $4.50/bu ($177/mt; up 1.5%).
The bulk carrier Wadi Almolouk, which had been stuck in the port of Novorossiysk due to a lack of required documentation, was able to leave last Friday and is headed for Egypt, reports Bloomberg. The agency’s sources indicate that negotiations to release the vessel from port were held with the involvement of Egypt’s Ministry of Agriculture. Bloomberg previously reported that several ships loaded by TD Rif were unable to leave Novorossiysk due to a lack of phytosanitary certificates from the Russian Federal Service for Veterinary and Phytosanitary Surveillance. Two other ships carrying wheat for Egypt, Edfu and Wadi Tiba, are still awaiting documents, Bloomberg reports, citing information from the Russian service.
The European Parliament approved a one-year extension of the tariff-free trade regime with Ukraine. Under the new regime, the European Commission can implement restrictive measures if imports of Ukrainian agricultural products, including corn, exceed the average levels for the second half of 2021 and for 2022 and 2023.
Ukraine’s Minister of Agrarian Policy, Mykola Solskyi, is suspected of illegally acquiring state-owned land worth 291 million UAH and attempting to acquire additional land worth 190 million UAH. The minister confirmed the accusations, stating that while he disagrees with the charges, he “guarantees maximum openness to establish the truth.”
