wheat supplies through the Suez Canal fell by 40% in two weeks – Kommersant

Changes in shipping routes due to the situation in the Red Sea in two weeks led to a drop in wheat supplies through the Suez Canal by almost 40% year-on-year, to 0.5 million tons, the World Trade Organization (WTO) reported. It recorded “a slight slowdown in global seaborne wheat imports in recent months” compared with the previous year.

According to press release organization on January 19, in December 2023, about 8% of wheat supplies from the European Union (EU), Russia and Ukraine to countries in Asia and East Africa were not delivered through the Suez Canal. Until December, the average was 3%. In the first half of January, the share of traffic on alternative routes increased to 42%.

Wheat supplies from the EU bypassing the Suez Canal from early December to mid-January amounted to 330 thousand tons, compared to 50 thousand tons for the same period a year earlier. During the same period, about 190 thousand tons of wheat were redirected via alternative routes from Russia (compared to zero supplies a year ago). It is clarified that all supplies from Ukraine to the countries of Asia and East Africa continued through the Suez Canal.

According to the WTO, in total, about 76 million tons of grains, oilseeds and their products are sent annually from the EU, Russia and Ukraine to Asia and East Africa. This represents 17% of total world trade in these goods.

Shelling of international ships in the Red Sea increased in December. This happened against the backdrop of a war between Israel and the Palestinian movement Hamas, which is supported by the Houthis. January 12 USA and UK struck on Houthi positions in Yemen. Beats continued over the next few days. By data Bloomberg, Russian tankers began to avoid the route through the Suez Canal.

About the consequences of the shelling – in the publication “Kommersant” “With persistent interruptions”.

Laura Keffer