Viterra News

Russia's lack of ships and Western grain traders' shrinking appetite for business with Moscow are adding to rising costs of moving Russian wheat, at a time when the war in Ukraine has spilled perilously close to vital Black Sea supply routes.President Vladimir Putin promised to replace Ukrainian grain with Russian shipments to Africa after Moscow in July ended an arrangement that gave Ukraine's food cargo safe passage in the Black Sea, imposing a de-facto blockade on its neighbour and attacking storage facilities…

Russian air strikes on Ukrainian grain facilities on the Danube this week threaten a vital river route for Kyiv's exports, as Moscow seeks to tighten the noose around a key sector of the economy days after abandoning the Black Sea shipping deal.Last week, air strikes caused tens of millions of dollars of damage to the grain sector in Odesa region, and Monday's strikes on infrastructure along the Danube brought back memories of the export gridlock that followed Russia's February 2022 invasion."Without the Danube, the export (situation) becomes critical.

Grain silos in Ukraine's second biggest port, Mykolaiv, were hit by Russian shelling of the city on Tuesday, causing a fire that was still burning on Wednesday, Ukraine's emergencies service said."As a result of the shelling of Mykolaiv, grain silos at an infrastructure facility in the Korabelny district caught fire," the emergencies service said on Facebook on Wednesday. "Firefighting continues."It published photos showing holes in the metal roofs of at least two silos and fire brigades pouring water on damaged facilities.

The unforeseen events of recent years have demonstrated how beneficial it can be for parties to contractually “expect the unexpected” – whether the event is extraordinary weather conditions caused by climate change or a pandemic. To help parties prepare for the unexpected, BIMCO has published a new clause.The new BIMCO Force Majeure Clause 2021 provides a comprehensive “code” for the parties to help resolve situations arising from unexpected events impacting the performance of the contracts. It is a “model” clause designed for use with all types of agreements.

Canada Steamship Lines (CSL) set a new record at the Viterra terminal in the Port of Thunder Bay yesterday, when it loaded 31,362 metric tonnes of grain on CSL Welland, breaking the previous record of 31,143 metric tonnes. The cargo of wheat will be discharged in Montreal, destined for international markets.“I commend Captain Rowe and his crew, the Viterra team, the Port of Thunder Bay, as well as our CSL teams on the ground who contributed to this achievement,” said Louis Martel, CSL President and CEO.

Louis Dreyfus Company announced the surprise departures of its chief executive and head of finance on Tuesday, triggering another reshuffle at the commodities giant as it strives to recover from weak agricultural markets.The group said in a statement that Gonzalo Ramirez Martiarena had resigned as CEO after three years in the post to pursue other opportunities, and would be replaced with immediate effect by Ian McIntosh, previously chief strategy officer.British national McIntosh…

Multipurpose heavy lift operator AAL has completed a series of shipments to Port Metro Vancouver (PMV) of a mobile grain shiploader to be installed at the Port’s Pacific Terminal run by grain handler Viterra. The largest component was over 66m long and weighed 250mt and, once assembled and operational, will increase the Terminal’s shipping capacity and allow for the loading of post-Panamax sized vessels. The shiploader was transported from China along AAL’s Pacific Service between Asia and North America and aboard its 31,000 dwt A-Class vessel, the AAL Singapore. Responsible for logistics and planning was Ontario-based Convoy Logistics Providers Ltd. (CLP), appointed by bulk material systems expert EMS-TECH who designed and commissioned the shiploader.

Grain shipments through the St. Lawrence Seaway are up 7 per cent this season, continuing the pace set last year when ships carried the largest volume of grain through the navigation system in 14 years. According to The St. Lawrence Seaway Management Corporation, grain shipments (including Canadian and U.S. grain) totaled 1.9 million metric tons from April 2 to May 31. The Port of Thunder Bay, the largest grain port on the Great Lakes, reported that its grain shipments were off to the strongest start this season since 1997, as the major handlers continue to export the harvest from 2014. So far this season, Algoma Central Corporation’s ships have carried 50 per cent more grain, mainly from Thunder Bay to Quebec for transshipment overseas.

Canadian grain marketer CWB said on Thursday it will build a third grain elevator on the western Prairies, as the former Wheat Board pieces together a crop-handling network. Winnipeg-based CWB will build an elevator that can store 42,000 tonnes of grain near Pasqua, Saskatchewan. It expects the elevator, adjacent to a Canadian Pacific Railway Ltd line with the ability to load 134 rail cars, to open in January 2016. The elevator is the latest project to expand Western Canada's grain-handling capacity, including country elevators and port terminals, as Canadian farmers increase production. Richardson International Ltd, Cargill Ltd and Viterra have also announced building projects. Viterra said last week that it would build a grain terminal at Ste.

Canadian grain marketer CWB said on Monday it has agreed to buy Great Sandhills Terminal Ltd, a farmer-owned 20,000-tonne grain handling facility in Leader, Saskatchewan, for $16.3 million. The deal, subject to regulatory and shareholder approvals, is expected to close by Sept. 1. It also includes a majority stake in a short-line railway in Saskatchewan. CWB did not release further financial details. CWB, which was previously known as the Canadian Wheat Board, has made several deals to piece together a grain-handling network in the past year as it moves toward operating outside of government control. Ottawa stripped the board of its western wheat and barley marketing monopoly in 2012 and agreed to guarantee CWB's borrowings until it is sold or develops a plan to be self-sustaining by 2016.

Canada needs to invest in shipping more grains and oilseeds off the West Coast as harvests get larger, to avoid the massive transportation backlogs that followed last year's record crops, industry officials said on Wednesday. Last year, 19.3 million metric tons of grain moved in bulk and containers combined through Port Metro Vancouver, British Columbia, the country's biggest port, which connects Canadian commodities with Asian buyers, according to the port. But handling Canadian…

Three Canadian grain handlers said this week that they will expand facilities to handle the country's crops, after a record-smashing harvest overwhelmed the transportation system. Viterra, owned by Glencore Xstrata PLC, said on Thursday it will spend C$100 million ($92 million) to boost grain shipping through Port Metro Vancouver, while CWB, formerly known as the Canadian Wheat Board, said it is building a second Western Canadian grain elevator. Global commodities trader Cargill Ltd said on Wednesday that it would expand an elevator site in Manitoba. The moves come as the country's grain handlers and railways have struggled to move a record harvest to port, causing a massive backlog.