Good morning, friends. It’s been slow on the news front here in the region, but we’ve got some big updates from Saudi Arabia — and plenty of regional collaboration news — to keep you busy.

THE BIG LOGISTICS STORY- Saudi oil giant Aramco has set up a JV with DHL Supply Chain to establish the region’s first procurement and logistics hub for petrochem, energy and chemical industry players in Saudi Arabia.

HAPPENING TODAY-

Russia agreed to extend the grain pact this time, but it has conditions for next time: Russia has hinged further extensions of the Black Sea grain agreement on the easing of Western sanctions after approving a 60-day renewal on Saturday, Reutersreported.

The conditions: Russia will not sign on to another renewal unless Western countries agree to roll back sanctions, such as restrictions on Russian state-owned agricultural bank Rosselkhozbank’s access to SWIFT payments, allow the country access to supplies of farm machinery, and unfreeze foreign assets and accounts held by the Russian agricultural sector, according to a statement by Russia’s foreign ministry. Russian President Vladimit Putin also said the country could send grains to the poorest African countries without charge if the pact is not extended, after noting that the pact had “unfairly prioritized well-fed European countries” over others. The latest extension expires on 18 May.

Background: The Black Sea grain pact, which allows the safe export of grain from Ukrainian and Russian Black Sea ports, was brokered by the UN and Turkey in July 2022 in a bid to alleviate the grain shortage triggered by the war.

Maersk sells its last remaining energy asset to focus on integrated logistics: AP Moller-Maersk completed its shift into a pure transport operator after its last energy subsidiary, Maersk Supply Service, was acquired by the Maersk family’s investment firm, AP Moller Holding A/S for USD 685 mn, Bloombergreports. The company provides services for offshore energy players, from anchor handling to redirecting icebergs away from oil platforms, with a 36-vessel fleet. The subsidiary was put up for sale seven years ago, as it looked to wean itself off its energy operations and devote its attention to sea and land transport, but struggled to find buyers.

MARKET WATCH-

Container prices in Asia fell in March on the back of a glut in inventory and slowing consumer demand, according to a report by online container logistics outfit Container xChange. Prices in Chinese ports saw a 47% y-o-y decline in March to USD 2284 per unit, while prices of containers fell 55% in Singapore and 51% in Vietnam.

Behind the numbers: Sluggish consumer demand in North America and Europe caused a drop in the number of outbound containersand a rise in the number of inbound containers in Asia. This has led to the reported Container Availability Index (CAx) in Chinese ports to be at its highest since 2018, according to the report. The excess in containers and fall in demand has caused a sharp decrease in the rates for container leasing and purchase meaning that container companies will struggle as long as the situation persists, the report says.

CIRCLE YOUR CALENDAR-

The MENA region’s first drone industry event, the Levitate Conference and Exhibition, will take place from 16-17 July at the St. Regis Amman, according to a press release. The event is organized through a partnership between the Special Operations Forces for Exhibition and Conference (SOFEX) Jordan and Sager Electronics. The conference aims to raise awareness on the latest trends, developments, and innovations in the drone industry and to explore different drone-powered solutions.

Check out our full calendar on the web for a comprehensive listing of upcoming news events, national holidays and news triggers.

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