World meat industry news

The United Shipbuilding Corporation (USC) is negotiating with Russian manufacturers interested in building a fleet to supply food abroad, Interfax reports.

“There are prospects associated with the need to replace foreign carriers who, due to sanctions pressure, are now refusing to transport Russian goods,” the agency quotes Georgy Poltavchenko, chairman of the board of directors of USC. — There are a lot of such cargoes, including grain, sunflower oil. Our manufacturers are faced with the issues of transportation to foreign markets, we need steamships.” According to Poltavchenko, negotiations are underway with Russian agricultural producers, and "there will be many orders."

In May, during the All-Russian Grain Forum, Minister of Agriculture Dmitry Patrushev said that the agricultural department plans to help exporters build their own fleet. “We are interested in our own fleet for exporters, this topic has been raised many times,” he noted. - Yesterday I talked with the head of the United Shipbuilding Company Alexei Rakhmanov, and we agreed that certain capacities at the shipyards could be provided for construction in your interests. “Panamax” will be difficult to build, but you can try to work out 40-thousanders.”

At the same time, Patrushev drew attention to the fact that the Ministry of Agriculture would initiate certain state support. “These are preferential loans, and, possibly, capex, and preferential leasing. We will work in this direction,” the minister enumerated. According to him, it is also possible to use the resources of "Rosagrozing" in order to reduce the cost of building ships. “We understand the complexity of the issue and, of course, we will do everything that depends on us so that you can be provided with your own fleet,” Patrushev said.

Eduard Zernin, Chairman of the Board of the Union of Grain Exporters, said during the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum that the association intends to form a consolidated application for the construction of ships in the near future and submit it to USC through the Ministry of Agriculture. He then noted that the foreign fleet on the Black Sea was replaced, however, at the cost of "washing out" the fleet from the river. According to him, for the further normal functioning of the industry, “about a hundred” river-sea class vessels are needed, first of all, we are talking about Handymax type vessels. “But, if we are counting on maritime sovereignty, we need Panamaxes. The need for them is several dozen. Today, the two largest companies already have about a dozen such vessels, ”said Zernin (quote from Finmarket).

Zernin clarified to Agroinvestor that Rosagroleasing is consolidating applications for the construction of ships, the company itself explained that work is underway in this area, but there is no leasing product yet, and Rosagroleasing does not accept applications. At the same time, the interlocutor of Agroinvestor from a large exporting agricultural holding says that, according to his information, there are only a few interested in building ships at the moment, another source in the industry also added that companies now have other priorities. ​

Difficulties with maritime logistics led to an increase in rail traffic. Thus, according to the commercial director of Europack (engaged in container transportation) Sos Kazaryan, despite the reduction in the number of ship calls and other negative effects of imposed trade restrictions, the company records an increase in the volume of shipments of agricultural products in the first half of 2022 compared to the same period in 2021- go. “In January-June 2022, we sent twice as many trains directly to China than in all of 2021. Trains go to the largest urban agglomerations of China: Chongqing, Shanghai, Xi'an and others, Kazaryan commented to Agroinvestor. - If last year it was an effective solution to reduce delivery times (by three to five times compared to the route through ports), which was mainly of interest to large manufacturers, Now even small manufacturers use the service.” At the same time, he continues, shipments through ports, although they have declined globally, have not stopped: they, primarily in the Far East, are still functioning, and Europack regularly ships food products in this way.