SOURCE: Australia's Exporters Continue To Face Increased Shipping Delays And Costs (gcaptain.com)
EXTRACT:
F&TA director Paul Zalai said: "Three of our members collectively paid in excess of US$117,000 in contract breaches in the past three months alone, with others also saying low-paying cargo, such as grain, is getting bumped-off vessels at transhipment ports for higher-paying priority cargo."
He estimated this added US$10-$20 per tonne to the grain price, noting: "Due to the lack of capacity, exporters physically have not moved as many tonnes this year as anticipated, causing an even bigger carryover of grain stockpile heading into another bumper harvest.
"Packers and transporters have consolidated to reduce risk and exposure to the volatility of the shipping industry, in turn reducing the appetite to move grain, which is likely to cause bottlenecks this upcoming harvest, leaving farmers potentially nowhere to unload grain."