What will be the grain transshipment costs in the next 2024/25 season
22 May, 2024 at 12:05
In the 2023/24 season, grain transshipment/fobbing costs in the ports of Big Odesa range from USD 20-24 per ton. The costs were set also under influence of guaranteed export volumes, fixed in contracts between the fobbing service provider and exporter. Due to the war risks, the transshipment cost has increased significantly, its share in the price of corn on FOB basis averaged about 13% during 2023/24. Before the war, the share was 6-8%, depending on the grain price volatility during the season.
From 2012 to 2020, the fobbing cost constantly decreased due to the investments in terminals capacity building and modernization of existing port elevators. In the 2019/20 season, the average cost was $10 per ton, which was comparable to the European transshipment costs of $7-8 per ton.
In the 2022/23 season, during the UN grain deal/the first grain corridor, the transshipment cost increased by 127% and averaged $25/mt, and then began to gradually decline. The supply of the fobbing services is still limited considerably as grain terminals in Mykolaiv region with capacity of about 20 M mt per season are blocked. The 75 % of grain exports are now shipped through the ports of the Big Odesa.
