Palm & Veg Report, April 2024

Shipping is still a logistical nightmare at the moment especially out in the Far East where tonnage lists are short, freight rates are high and delays to ships have become almost the new norm.

Many charterers, especially those without forward coverage have been left feeling perplexed as they grapple with freight rates and ship-owners earlier feelings of hope have quickly turned to euphoria as they reap even better returns. CPP markets have lost a little bit of their shine recently however voyage earnings remain fairly strong in both the East and West and with renewed fears of a full blown conflict in the Middle East things could rapidly change at short notice. The bio-diesel markets are continuing to dominate the shipping headlines and for those who like statistics, more than 62 millions tonnes out of 260 millions tonnes of edible oil produced annually will be used in the renewable energy sector in 2024 and, it is almost impossible to imagine how the freight and commodity markets might look without it!