Reading Time: < 1 minute Reuters — Ukraine has restored a rail link to neighbouring Moldova after a 23-year hiatus and the connection could carry 10 million tonnes of freight a year, President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said in a video address on Monday. Although he did not specify what kinds of goods, Ukraine is keen to find new ways to export […] Read more
Ukraine restores Moldova rail link
Rail line could carry 10 million tonnes of freight per year
U.N. chief seeks ‘spirit of compromise’ over Ukraine grain initiative
Deal sees 21 outbound ships so far
Reading Time: 2 minutes Lviv | Reuters — U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres urged Russia and Ukraine on Thursday to show a “spirit of compromise” to ensure the continued success of a U.N. brokered deal that enabled Ukraine to resume grain exports from its Black Sea ports. Guterres said after talks in the western Ukrainian city of Lviv that 21 […] Read more
Russia, Ukraine agree to protect Ukraine grain shipping channel
Reading Time: 3 minutes London/New York | Reuters — Ships exporting Ukraine grain through the Black Sea will be protected by a 10-nautical mile buffer zone, according to long-awaited procedures agreed by Russia, Ukraine, Turkey and the United Nations on Monday and seen by Reuters. The United Nations and Turkey brokered a deal last month after Russia’s Feb. 24 […] Read more
Ukraine grain export coordination centre opens in Istanbul
Reading Time: 3 minutes Istanbul | Reuters – Turkish Defence Minister Hulusi Akar on Wednesday unveiled a centre in Istanbul to oversee the export of Ukrainian grains after a landmark U.N. deal last week, with the first shipment expected to depart from Black Sea ports within days. Russia and Ukraine signed the deal, brokered by Ankara and the United […] Read more
Turkey says Ukraine grain ships could avoid mines
Russia offers safe passage
Reading Time: 2 minutes Ankara/United Nations | Reuters — Russia on Wednesday said it has offered “safe passage” for Ukraine grain shipments from Black Sea ports but is not responsible for establishing the corridors and Turkey suggested that ships could be guided around sea mines. Ukrainian grain shipments have stalled since Russia’s invasion and ports blockade, stoking global prices […] Read more
Russian attack destroys warehouses of major Ukrainian port terminal, owner says
Reading Time: 2 minutes Kyiv | Reuters — Russian shelling destroyed the warehouses of one of Ukraine’s largest agricultural commodities terminals in the Black Sea port of Mykolaiv over the weekend, authorities and the facility’s owner said Tuesday. The attack came at a time Turkey is trying to develop a U.N.-backed plan to start grain exports from Ukraine’s ports, […] Read more
Viterra to buy Marubeni’s U.S. grain firm Gavilon
Grain handler looking to expand reach in Americas through acquisitions
Reading Time: 3 minutes Grain firm Viterra’s plans to buy an expanded global reach are about to move forward with a 10-figure deal for the bulk of U.S. ag commodity firm Gavilon’s grain business. Viterra, owned by commodities firm Glencore and two Canadian public-sector pension funds, announced Wednesday it will pay $1.125 billion to buy Omaha-based Gavilon from the […] Read more
Baltic Dry Index hits 12-year high
Canadian grain exports slow either way
Reading Time: < 1 minute MarketsFarm — Strong demand to move cargo coupled with weather-related shipping constraints in a number of key corridors has helped take ocean freight rates to their highest levels in more than a decade. The Baltic Dry Index (BDI), a major indicator of shipping rates, settled Friday at 4,275 points, marking its highest level since November […] Read more
ADM quarterly profit surges amid strong U.S. corn exports to China
Reading Time: 2 minutes Reuters – U.S. grain merchant Archer-Daniels-Midland Co on Tuesday reported quarterly profit leapt 52 percent due to strong exports and oilseed crushing margins. The bigger-than-expected earnings sent shares to a two-week high and extended a recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic, which last year hurt demand for the company’s ethanol and food products. Shares were up […] Read more
Baltic Dry Index at four-month lows
Declining demand seen from China
Reading Time: < 1 minute MarketsFarm — Ocean freight rates have fallen off of their highs of the past year over the course of the past month, but remain well above the lows hit in the spring when global markets first started reacting to the COVID-19 pandemic. The Baltic Dry Index (BDI), a major indicator of shipping rates, has moved […] Read more
A message from April Stewart, Country Guide's Associate Editor
