According to Pavel Lysenko, analyst with ASAP Agri, Freight broker with Atria Brokers, the grain trade remains active, flooding the freight market with fresh cargo orders from Ukraine. The available tonnage in the Black Sea-Mediterranean basin for October dates continues to shrink, and this week, charterers encountered an acute shortage of vessels in the coaster segment, particularly for spot dates. Amid the anticipated market upturn, shipowners have adopted a ‘wait-and-see’ approach, refraining from offering their vessels too quickly. As a result, charterers find themselves in a challenging position when securing tonnage for their contracts, leaving them with no option but to considerably raise their bids whenever a suitable vessel becomes available on the market.

Thus, according to Atria Brokers' freight department, rates for Handysize vessels carrying corn from POC ports to East Coast Italy increased by 2 USD/MT to 25-26 USD/MT.

In the Coaster segment, rates for carrying corn from Ukrainian Danube ports to East Coast Italy increased by 2 USD/MT to 32-34 USD/MT.

Meanwhile, there have been no positive shifts for barge owners. Freight for corn transportation from Reni or Izmail to Constanta remains at 9-10 EUR/MT.

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