In Hellenic Shipping News 21/07/2016
Nikos Roussanoglou, Hellenic Shipping News Worldwide
The freight market for edible oils hasn’t been able to replicate the success of 2015 so far. In its latest weekly report, shipbroker Intermodal said that “the edible oil markets across the globe remain under pressure on the back of lackluster demand. Some of the main factors causing the low activity are seasonality, increased stocks and wet and dry weather conditions in the west and east respectively. While S. America activity has already been ‘’hit’’ by the summer seasonal cool-off, effects of El Nino are still evident on the palm oil exports from SE Asia. Needless to say that the impact of this has resulted in long lists of ships available and has pushed freight rates down to new lows. In the meantime, the CPP market in both the Atlantic and the Pacific has not provided support to Owners looking to escape the dull palm and vegetable oil market and has further extended their feeling of uncertainty”.
According to Intermodal’s Stelios Kollintzas, Tanker Chartering – Specialized Products Desk, “against owners’ expectations, the traditional increase of demand before and after the Ramadan has failed to materialize this year. India and Pakistan, the main demand sources, have been very slow, while Europe and China have also been weak. However, the Middle East and Red Sea markets have experienced healthier activity, still not enough to absorb the ample tonnage around though. Palm oil shipments have been 8.5% lower in June compared to May, forcing a number of owners to heavily compete for each cargo that becomes available in the market. Hire rates during the past month for the usual long haul MR TC Trip to Med-Continent-USA bss delivery at charterer’s preferred load port, have dropped from $16,500 to $15,000 per day at the time of writing, the lowest fixing levels in a long time. As far as the regional SE Asia market is concerned, there has been a slight increase of cargoes quoted as charterers look to replenish their stocks, but overall the market is still far from achieving a balance”, Kollintzas said.
Intermodal’s analyst added that “after many months of a rather firm market, freight rates on the edible trade lanes from S. America have softened. Having been the strong leg on the triangulation trade for the dedicated on the edible oil market Owners, it has finally followed the rest of the routes on the downside. This is mainly the result of a sharp decrease in Indian demand, which has been traditionally the main destination of vegetable oils from S. America. However, the recent boost of CPP imports into Argentina has led many ships in the area, building as a result a long tonnage list and causing great supply/demand imbalance. On the other hand, there are serious delays on discharging those ships, which causes increased concern to Owners and Charterers that aim to get ships with firm itineraries. With ample tonnage available we do not expect MR veg oil freight rates to firm over the next few weeks. In fact, it is possible that they will soften further. At the moment, the rate for 40k mtons of cargo to India is about USD 36-38 pmt bss 2/2”, he noted.
Kollintzas went on to note that “the outlook for the Black Sea/Med market is not very different compared to the previous months. Once again, activity is low and it is mostly small parcels that move around. However, there is better luck for FOSFA accepted vessels which are still in demand and able to negotiate better numbers. Despite the slow market, rates have been stable with the usual route to India on 12,000 tons fixing around $ mid/high 50s pmt bss 1/2. As the summer months roll on, signs of recovery to 2015 levels remain scarce. More likely, palm oil exports/freight rates to India will remain slow until the next festive season of Diwali in October, as for rates ex-S. America things are more complicated, with Atlantic basket CPP fundamentals most likely being the key factor behind the performance of the market there”, he concluded.
Nikos Roussanoglou, Hellenic Shipping News Worldwide
