Cost of offshore grain transshipment in Odessa's ports has doubled in 2023-24 - analysts

MOSCOW. May 22 (Interfax) - The price for offshore grain transshipment in the ports of Odessa in the 2023/24 season (July-June) fluctuates between $20-24 per tonne, the final price depending on direct agreements with the terminal and guaranteed export volumes, Ukrainian media reported, citing the UkrAgroConsult information and analytical agency.

"The cost of transshipment has increased significantly, and its share in the total price of corn on an FOB basis was 13% on average during the 2023/24 agricultural year. Meanwhile, the share of transshipment cost was at the level of 6-8% of the price a few years ago depending on the cost of grain during the year," the company's analysts said.

There was a trend observed from 2012 to 2020, when the cost of FOB shipments was constantly decreasing due to the active construction of new terminals and the modernization of existing port elevators, the analysts said. The average cost was $10 per tonne during the 2109/2020 season, which was comparable to the $7-8 per tonne charged for transshipment at the time in European ports.

"Under the UN-administered grain deal, the cost of transshipment increased 127% to an average of $25 per tonne in the 2022/2023 season, and then began to gradually decrease in the next [season]. The lack of access to terminals in the Nikolaev region, which can transship about 20 million tonnes of grain per year, continues to negatively affect the situation related to the cost of fobbing," UkrAgroConsult said.