Flaxseed: freight costs from Kazakhstan increase massively

Since last weekend, new restrictions have been in place for transport from Russia and Belarus to the EU. As part of the European Union's fifth significant sanctions package against Russia, trucks and container ships from these two countries have been banned from entering the EU since Saturday.

Rejection despite exceptions?

Clear exceptions have also been defined here. In addition, there is a transitional period until 16 April, by which time transport service providers already in the EU have the option of leaving the EU countries. Germany Trade & Invest published an article on this topic last Wednesday (13.04.), indicating which goods may nevertheless continue to be transported to the EU by Russian and Belarusian hauliers with the relevant licenses. The selected product groups include fuels, various metals, ores, pharmaceutical products, and agricultural and food products.

Nevertheless, market players repeatedly reported this week that trucks with Russian licence plates were said to have been turned away at the EU border, and ship freight was also no longer possible. A large proportion of overland transports enter the EU via Polish borders. A possible reason for this would be that the rejected carriers do not yet have the necessary licences, as the goods were already on their way when the decision was made. In the course of this, Kazakh forwarders are said to have drastically increased their freight prices; according to market players, up to 10,000 EUR per load are being charged for deliveries to Germany and the Netherlands. According to traders, this even applies retroactively to goods that have already been loaded. (Mundus-Agri)

China is a most crucial buyer

The offers for brown flaxseed from Russia/Kazakhstan are limited and are at a relatively high level, depending on the supplier, and there can be deviations. Canadian goods are also still more expensive than ever, but the current conflict and new sanctions give Canadian traders hope. The experts at Rayglen Commodities consider higher demand from the EU conceivable despite the limited supply. At the same time, according to their report, Russia should have no problems selling flaxseed. Business with China, now one of the most important buyers of Russian flaxseed, is said to continue unchecked.(mundus-Agri)