Category: Freight

Resilient export value: Agricultural exports held at $600 million in 2025, only slightly below the 2024 record, despite a sharp drop in grain volumes. Shift to value-added products: Oils and fats, led by sunflower oil (80% of the segment), grew 1.5x in value, offsetting the contraction in grain shipments. Concentrated demand profile: Turkey remains the…

Investment Scale: Kuryk Port’s development is set to attract up to $1.1 billion, with $300 million allocated for Phase 1 construction starting in 2024. Capacity Expansion: Phase 1 will handle 180,000 TEU, 180,000 vehicles, and 2–3 million tons of bulk cargo annually, enhancing Middle Corridor logistics. Timeline: The port complex is scheduled for commissioning in…

Ukrainian grain exports in the 2025/26 marketing year are down 29.2% year-on-year to 16.921 million tons, signaling weaker export demand from Ukrainian ports. Wheat and corn shipments are both sharply lower (–20% and –36.7% respectively), tightening vessel demand on key Black Sea export routes. January export pace is 17% below last year, reinforcing a Neutral…

Rail exports trimmed: Ukraine’s average daily grain rail transfers to the EU fell 7.6% in early January to 171 tons per day. Border bottlenecks: Sharpest cuts were recorded at the Polish (down 6.3 cars/day) and Romanian (down 2.6 cars/day) crossings, tightening export capacity. Hungary offsets partially: The Hungarian border was the only route with higher…

Russian grain exports to Kazakhstan plunged 67% year-on-year to $109 million in January–November, signaling weaker regional demand. Wheat remains the core trade flow at 78.4% of export value, with barley, corn, and rice making up most of the remainder. Despite the drop in volumes, Russia still commands 83% of Kazakhstan’s grain import market, underscoring its…

Bullish: Ukrainian seaports moved 44.2 million tons of agricultural products in 2025, achieving over 95% of planned cargo turnover despite heavy security disruptions. Bearish: Ukrainian road exports collapsed 65% month-on-month in January 2025, signaling acute strain on alternative land corridors and higher inland logistics risk. Bullish: Container shipping via Ukrainian ports rose 66% year-on-year to…

Post-holiday rebound: Azov-Black Sea freight rates rose in week 3 as grain trade normalized and demand recovered after New Year holidays. Cost support factors: Kerch Strait delays and a shortage of spot tonnage are pushing freight rates higher across key Black Sea and Mediterranean routes. Zero export duties: Russia’s wheat, barley, and corn export duties…

Record Export Revenues: Russian oat exports reached nearly $62 million in 2025, surpassing the previous record of $59.3 million set in 2024. China-Driven Demand: China accounted for over $56 million of imports, more than 90% of total Russian oat export value. Strong Production Growth: Domestic oat output rose 25.8% year-on-year to 3.8 million tons, supported…

Bearish Russian exports: Russian grain exports fell 17.6% in H1 2025/26 MY to 33.9 million tons amid intensifying competition from the EU, Australia, and Argentina. Resilient Turkish demand: Turkey’s November grain imports surged 72% month-on-month to 1.37 million tons, with Russia supplying 92% of its wheat purchases. Diversification to Africa: Russian agricultural exports to Sudan…

Kazakhstan targets at least 6.5% trade volume growth by 2026, leveraging wholesale grain exports and new B2B digital trading platforms. Planned repairs of 11,000 km of roads, new railway lines, and three airports aim to cut logistics bottlenecks and support freight growth. Krasnoyarsk Krai wheat exports collapsed 4.5x in 2025, while value-added rapeseed oil and…