Reuters – Bumper soybean harvests in Brazil and unsold grain stocks in the United States are set to boost dry bulk shipping rates as buyers including China restock after supply shocks last year, leading freight operators have said.
The dry bulk shipping market has been hit in recent months by slow activity, partly driven by the COVID lockdowns in China, one of the world’s biggest generators of seaborne commodities trade.
Grain supplies were also affected by the war in Ukraine for part of last year until a United Nations-backed corridor was set up, although exports have slowed lately.
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Shipping participants say they are already seeing early freight chartering ahead of the start of the South American export season and expect that to gather pace from April.
Grains account for 50 per cent of cargo carried by London-listed Taylor Maritime Investments, which is already seeing more trade from the U.S. Gulf.
“We did see cargoes coming out of Mississippi a month in advance, which we would not normally expect to see,” its chief executive Edward Buttery told Reuters.
“I’m not expecting a massive recovery in rates this year, but I am expecting a good recovery.”
Limited dry bulk ship ordering and scrapping of smaller, older vessels, especially used in grains trade, are also expected to tighten vessel availability this year.
