Category: Freight

Policy Support: Kazakhstan Railway (JSC NC KTZ) is considering sizable discounts on rail tariffs for transporting socially important food products and flour used in social bread production. Inflation Relief: Food price inflation slowed sharply to 0.3% in March 2024 versus 0.9% in March 2023, with Q1 2024 food price growth (1.2%) three times lower than…

Grain railcars en route to Greater Odesa ports dropped by 1,174 units week-on-week to 8,447 as of March 26, signaling a thinner export pipeline. Daily unloading at Greater Odesa ports remained relatively stable at 1,274 railcars/day, but daily loading slipped to 1,233 railcars/day, pointing to weaker origination. Danube port rail freight softened, with cars in…

March rebound: Ukraine shipped 3.194 million tons of grain in March 2025, up 5.3% year-on-year. Seasonal shortfall: Total 2025/26 exports of 25.619 million tons are lagging last year by 20.5% (‑6.6 million tons). Corn dominance: Corn made up 76% of March grain exports at 2.437 million tons, underscoring strong corn availability. Wheat softness: Lower wheat volumes versus last year…

Kyrgyzstan exported 17,800 tons of sugar in 2025, with Uzbekistan taking 99.3% of total shipments. Sugar trade flows are highly concentrated within Central Asia, with negligible volumes reaching wider global markets. Impact on Black Sea freight, logistics capacity, and pricing is neutral due to small, regionally contained volumes. Market Update Kyrgyzstan’s sugar exports totaled 17,800…

Coordinated rail expansion: Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan are jointly developing the Darbaza-Maktaaral railway corridor to increase cross-border freight capacity. Infrastructure modernization: New connections to the Maktaaral-Syrdarya interstate highway and upgraded signaling and communications systems aim to support higher transit volumes. Support for Middle Corridor: Enhanced throughput strengthens Central Asia’s role as an alternative grain export route,…

Route utilization: Kazakhstan shipped 24 tons of wheat flour to New York via the Middle Corridor and Black Sea, confirming the route’s operational viability. Transit time: The multimodal shipment required approximately 58 days door-to-door, positioning the corridor as an alternative rather than a fast competitor to traditional routes. Market diversification: This second confirmed flour shipment…

Kazakhstan’s wheat flour exports to Afghanistan fell 9% y/y in January 2026 to 98.5 thousand tons, extending a broader downtrend. Full-year 2025 flour shipments to Afghanistan dropped nearly 15% versus 2024, to 1.048 million tons. Total Kazakh wheat flour exports still rose in January 2026 to about 171 thousand tons, up from 156.6 thousand tons…

209 million tons of Ukrainian exports moved via “Solidarity Roads” since May 2022, including 98 million tons of agricultural products. Combined with Black Sea ports, total exports of grain, oilseeds, and related products reached 232 million tons over the same period. Total trade volume through Solidarity Routes is estimated at €270 billion, with €72 billion…

Export Surge: Russian wheat exports jumped 2.7x year-on-year in March 1–20 to 3.1 million tons, putting total monthly shipments on track to challenge the March 2022/23 record of 6.2 million tons. Demand Drivers: Egypt and Turkey sharply increased wheat purchases, while Iran and Turkey emerged as key outlets for rebounding corn and barley exports. Freight…

Export momentum: Ukraine’s ECA backed UAH 5.9 billion in export contracts for 16 exporters in January–February 2026. Regional concentration: Khmelnytskyi region received 78% of total support, highlighting strong inland production capacity. Market diversification: Germany and Poland lead demand, with additional flows to Western, Eastern, and Scandinavian markets. High leverage: Each UAH 1 of ECA liability…