Prices for agricultural products transportation by coaster vessels from Danube ports plummet - Ukrainian Danube Shipping Company
MOSCOW. July 1 (Interfax) - Prices for agricultural products transportation (batches of 3,000 to 6,000 tonnes) by coaster vessels from Danube ports plummeted to $20 per tonne in June, or almost two times less than at the beginning of 2024, Ukrainian media said, citing the press service for the Ukrainian Danube Shipping Company.
Offers for transportation from Izmail to Egypt and Greece have fallen below $20 per tonne, or practically half the price at the year beginning, the company said.
Ukrainian Grain Association President Nikolai Gorbach explains the price fall with the reinstatement of Ukraine's traditional export model: large batches, large ships, large ports.
The Ukrainian Danube Shipping Company has encountered a similar situation at the river transportation market, company deputy head Vladislav Belakh said.
"A perfect storm. A large fleet and a rapid decrease in cargo volume. Some ship owners choose suicidal tactics amid the crisis: they are dumping, working at a loss, and pushing the market even lower. I have no doubt that the situation will stabilize over time and many actors will leave the market, as happened in river transportation. In the end, the winner will be the one who preserved, and not senselessly spent the fleet resource for the sake of earnings that do not cover the costs of repair and restoration of the vessel. Our policy in this regard is balanced, we think about the future, about preserving state-owned assets," he said.