Nibulon LLC (Mykolaiv), one of the largest operators at the grain market of Ukraine, intends to build an elevator and a high-tech mill at its Bessarabian branch (port Izmail) to increase the shipment of grain from the record 170,000 tons per month to potentially 300,000 tons, the company said on Facebook.
“To realize this potential, Nibulon is considering building a full-fledged elevator at the location, designed for simultaneous storage of 118.5 thousand tons of grain, as well as a high-tech modern mill with a capacity of 750 tons per day,” said Michael Rizak, director of government relations and sustainable development issues of the company during the visit of the US Ambassador Bridgette Brink to the branch.
Nibulon notes that the new mill will be able to work both for the needs of domestic consumers in Ukraine and serve the food security mission of the UN World Food Program (WFP).
“Now WFP uses the processing facilities of Turkey, sending there Ukrainian grain on the “grain corridor”. But it is also possible to transport ready-made flour, bran and other products of grain processing from Ukraine,” Rizak explained.
JV Nibulon LLC was founded in 1991. Before the Russian military invasion, grain trader had 27 transshipment terminals and complexes for reception of crops, capacities for one-time storage of 2.25 million tons of agricultural products, fleet of 83 vessels (including 23 tugboats), as well as owned Nikolaev shipyard.
“Nibulon” before the war worked 82 thousand hectares of land in 12 regions of Ukraine and exported agricultural products to more than 70 countries.
The grain trader exported a maximum of 5.64 million tons of agricultural products in 2021, reaching record volumes of deliveries to foreign markets in August – 0.7 million tons, the fourth quarter – 1.88 million tons and in the second half of the year – 3.71 million tons.
According to Opendatabot, Nibulon’s revenues fell almost 2.7 times to 15.18 million hryvnias in 2022, and its net loss was 10.53 billion hryvnias versus a net profit of 1.34 billion hryvnias a year earlier.
A blockade of Ukraine’s ports would boost foreign currency revenues from product exports by at least $20 billion, according to Alexander Vodoviz, head of the project office of Metinvest’s general director.
“We’re picking up crumbs from the table, but we’re not seeing the big pie,” Vodoviz said at Forbes’ Exporters Summit.
Vodoviz urged asking questions about port de-blockades at meetings with the U.N. “There is some movement in that direction, but it’s not enough,” he added.
“Metinvest is a vertically integrated group of mining and metallurgical companies. Its enterprises are located in Ukraine – in Donetsk, Lugansk, Zaporozhye and Dnipropetrovsk regions, as well as in Europe.
The major shareholders of the holding are SCM Group (71.24%) and Smart Holding (23.76%) that manage it jointly.
Metinvest Holding LLC is the management company of Metinvest group.
One of the world leaders Danish transport and logistics company A.P. Moeller-Maersk AS, which stopped its ship calls to Ukraine since February last year after a full-scale Russian invasion, has resumed delivery of clients’ cargoes to the Ukrainian port of Reni from Constanta (Romania) by barge, the company’s official website says.
“Development in Ukraine remains in focus, as well as the implementation of solutions for our customers in terms of security,” it said.
According to it, Maersk is launching a new weekly barge service from Constanta port to Reni port on two routes – via Constanta/Danube Canal and the Black Sea with a transit time of approximately 1.5 days.
It is reported that the company’s system is updated and accepts reservations from customers with delivery to the port of Reni. Their implementation will be subject to the working capacities, subject to the proper documentation, including the legal adoption of the provision of Ukraine on the risks in the region.
The company advised to contact its local representatives for more detailed information about deliveries to the port of Reni.
In the fourth quarter of 2022, A.P. Moeller-Maersk AS decreased its net profit by 18.8% and revenue by 3.7%, which was worse than experts’ forecasts. Net income in October-December was $4.95 billion compared to $6.094 billion in the same period of the previous year. Revenue fell to $17.82 billion compared to $18.506 billion.
The average freight rate was down 3.5% for the fourth quarter of 2021, and freight volume fell 14%.
Maersk also stopped operations in the Russian market. All services in Russia ceased operations in the first quarter, and in the third quarter the deal to sell a 30.75% stake in Global Ports Investments was closed. The process of selling the remaining assets – two warehouses and four tugboats – continued.
Maersk generated EBITDA of $36.81 billion and EBIT of $30.86 billion in 2022.
The State Property Fund (SPF) has prepared the privatization of the Ust-Dunaysk Commercial Seaport, which will be the first sale of the seaport since Ukraine’s independence, the SPF website reported on Thursday.
According to the report, the auction will be held on January 17 at Prozorro.sale. The starting price of 60 million UAH.
“This year, Ust-Dunaysk began to play a crucial role in global food security. (…) It has great potential for the development of Ukrainian food exports. This requires investments that private business can bring,” commented Rustem Umerov, head of the Fund.
The State Property Fund noted that since the beginning of the port operation in war conditions it has transshipped 153 thousand tons of grain for export. In addition, Ust-Dunaisk handles imported cargo, such as salt and rice.
Since April 1, the port has handled 58.3 thousand tons of imported consumer goods.
At the same time in January-September 2022 Ust-Dunaisk received 848 thousand UAH of net profit. In January-November, it paid more than 9 million UAH of taxes to the budgets of all levels.
The port itself consists of three assets: a port in Vilkovo, Odessa region, port point “Kilia” in the city of the same name and a base of service of special ships lighter carriers on the island of Shabash.
Direct loading-unloading operations are carried out in port point Kiliya, located at 54th km of the Danube River. Passport depths at the pier – 3 meters, actual – 1.5 meters.
As reported, on November 11, the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine decided to expand the water area of three seaports on the Danube: the port in Izmail, Reni and the port of Ust-Dunaisk.
Four dry cargo ships with more than 120,000 tons of wheat and corn left Ukrainian ports on Friday, the Joint Coordination Center (JCC) reported.
“Four ships left Ukrainian ports today, they are carrying a total of 120,150 tons of grain and other food within the framework of the Black Sea Grain Initiative,” the report said.
Vessel Nestor S will deliver 62,9 thousand tons of corn to China, dry-cargo carrier Mohamad M will carry 23,5 thousand tons of corn to Italy. In addition two vessels Tzarevich (19 thousand tons of wheat) and Gannet S (14 750 tons of corn) set a course to Turkey.
In addition, there are five ships heading for Ukrainian ports, which passed through the humanitarian sea corridor on November 11.
SKC notes that 76 dry cargo vessels are awaiting permission to enter Ukrainian ports, and seven loaded vessels are preparing to be inspected in Turkish territorial waters.
“As of November 11, the total tonnage of grain and other agricultural products exported from three Ukrainian ports is 10,288,535 tons. A total of 892 ships have been allowed to move so far: 450 to arrive at Ukrainian ports and 442 to leave them,” stressed the JCC.
A trial train of 21 wagons with 1.2 thousand tons of feed corn has arrived in the port of Rostock (Germany), and soon three more trains with corn from Ukraine will enter the country, according to the website of the German publication NRD.
According to him, the train with corn was on the road for about eight days, which included reloading agricultural products into narrow-gauge wagons at the Ukrainian-Polish border, after which DB Cargo delivered the cargo to Rostock, where agricultural products were reloaded into port granaries. The publication clarifies that last year’s corn crop is in good condition.
It is specified that BAT Agrar from Ratzeburg (Germany) is coordinating the arrival of trains. It is not yet known where the agricultural products that arrived at the port of Rostock will go next.
“Due to Russia’s aggressive war in Ukraine, many export routes of local agriculture have become difficult or impossible. However, in accordance with the agreement, exports across the Black Sea have started again this month,” the publication recalled.
As reported, in April, the German concern Deutsche Bahn and its subsidiary logistics company DB Cargo began redirecting grain exports from Ukraine through the railway infrastructure instead of their traditional export through Ukrainian seaports, which were blocked by the Russian fleet at that time.
Michael Theurer, parliamentary secretary at the German Federal Ministry of Transport, said that Germany is obliged to ensure the shipment of 20 million tons of grain from Ukraine to prevent starvation on the planet.
