Good morning, friends. The newsflow has slowed down significantly from what was a more eventful weekend, but we still have a few updates from across the region to dig into.

THE BIG LOGISTICS STORIES- The investment and logistics arms of Egypt’s postal service Egypt Post will acquire a 40% stake in Egyptian logistics platform Roaderz. Meanwhile, Fertiglobe and AD Ports have inked a non-binding MoU to explore potential avenues to ship and store urea and ammonia at ports in Egypt and the UAE.

^^ We have everything on this story and more in the news well, below.

HAPPENING TODAY-

First food shipments from Ukraine head towards Egypt + Isra el: Two cargo vessels arrived in Ukraine’s Chornomorsk port on Sunday to collect some 20k tons of wheat bound for Egypt and Israel, Reuters reports, citing a post on Telegram by the Ukrainian agriculture ministry. These are the first food shipments to use an alternative trade corridor since Russia in July suspended the agreement with Kyiv that allowed it to safely export grain via the Black Sea. Since the grain pact collapsed, Ukraine has rerouted its grain exports via rail, river, and land, which carry the risk of being exposed to Russian attacks on river ports. The temporary “ humanitarian corridor ” reroutes Ukrainian exports via the western Black Sea coast near Romania and Bulgaria to avoid attacks on river ports.

Ukraine is also looking to Romania for help in moving grain: Ukraine's largest grain shipping company is calling on Romania’s Constanta Black Sea Port to allow capacity expansion for ship-to-ship grain transfers, according to a statement. Danube Shipping Company (UDP), who made the request, said the move would double its barge export capacity. Since the breakdown of the UN-brokered Black Sea grain shipping agreement last July, Ukraine has had to use Constanta Port as an alternative export route and has relied heavily on shipping its grain exports in a wide circle down to Constanta.

Cargo processing on the US-Mexico Border is expected to resume, following a few days of suspension : The port of entry at the Bridge of Americas (BOTA) on the US-Mexico border between El Paso, Texas and the Mexican city of Juarez will resume operations in one or two days days after the CBP announced a temporary suspension on Monday, Reuters reported, citing Mexican officials. Earlier this week, US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) said that the temporary closure of cargo processing will allow officials to assist the US border patrol in processing migrants arriving outside official crossings.

Severe flooding in Northern Iran damages bridges + injures 20: Heavy rainfall in Iran’s Gilan province, specifically in Astara and Talesh, caused severe flooding resulting in significant damage to Ahmad bridge and Sheibli bridge as well as injuring 20 people, semi-official news agency Tasnim reported. “Heavy rains ... have fallen over Astara which have not been seen in 100 years,” Gilan province's head of crisis management Amir Moradi told Iranian state news agency IRNA, France 24 reported. Twelve teams of rescuers and relief workers have reportedly been sent over to Iran to address the flooding.

Iraq resumes its Shirqat Silo railway line services following three decades of suspension: The Silo-Shirqat railway line will resume after three decades of suspension to transport food basket materials from the ports of Basra to the governorate of Salah Al Din, according to a ministry statement. The railway line will enable the delivery of wheat from the southern port of Umm Qasr, which will be unloaded to a silo in Shirqat, to service food baskets to Salah Al Din and Nineveh’s citizens.

WATCH THIS SPACE #1- Emission bills to hit EU-bound ships next year, but concerns abound over their effectiveness: Major freight firms like MSC AP Moller-Maersk could see costs run into hundreds of mns of USDs come next year as the requirement to pay for carbon emissions goes into effect starting January, Bloomberg reports. While the fees are substantial, they may not lead to an immediate shift towards cleaner fuels as market dynamics primarily drive shipping costs, DNV Decarbonization Director Tore Longava told the business information service.

The effectiveness of the program in reducing emissions might not be immediate if we assume a EUR 90 carbon price, since it would remain more cost-effective for ships to continue using cheaper but more polluting oil fuels and pay for the resulting emissions rather than switching to a more expensive environmentally friendly marine biofuels, according to Longva.

WATCH THIS SPACE #2- Is Tesla in talks with Saudi Arabia over an EV plant? EV giant Tesla and Saudi Arabia are reportedly in early talks for the establishment of a manufacturing facility in the Kingdom, the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported, citing sources in the know. KSA — which is ramping up investments in non-oil industries — is reportedly offering Tesla access to supply chains for metals needed for EV manufacturing, the WSJ added. Discussions are fragile and could collapse at any moment given Elon Musk’s fractious relationship with the country and its close relationship with Tesla rival Lucid Group, the WSJ said.

Musk says no way: Tesla CEO Elon Musk has rebutted the news as “utterly false” in a statement on X (formerly known as Twitter).

DATA POINT #1- Middle East air connectivity up 26% compared to pre-covid levels: The Middle East region’s total air connectivity in 2022 jumped 26% when compared to 2019, according to a report from the Airports Council International Asia-Pacific and Middle East (ACI APAC & MID). The numbers for the Middle East contrast with Asia-Pacific’s 38% decline as that market continues to recover from the pandemic. The report, written in conjunction with auditing giant PwC, ranked Dubai International Airport first and Doha’s Hamad Airport second in terms of total air connectivity for 2022 in Asia-Pacific and Middle East, the report added.

What is air connectivity, anyway? The report sets out to measure passengers’ abilities to access global air networks from airports via direct and indirect routes, the release explained. It surveys 100 airports accounting for 60% of passenger traffic in Asia-Pacific and the Middle East and also factors quality of service at airports, including destination options, service frequencies, and other aspects affecting traveler experience.

DATA POINT #2- The UAE’s AD Ports has recorded a 37% y-o-y surge in digital customs transactions through the border crossings of Abu Dhabi in 1H 2023, in comparison to the same period last year, WAM reports. The company also reported a 6% y-o-y increase in customs declarations, while pre-arrival declarations accounted for 38 of total customs clearance across the country.

MARKET WATCH-

The threat of the return of USD 100 oil is becoming very real: Traders and analysts are sounding the alarm about a possible return to USD 100 oil as growing tightness in the markets continues to lift prices, Bloomberg reports. Brent, which has risen more than 30% since its March low, came close to surpassing USD 95 a barrel on Sunday, while ome crude grades are already trading above USD 100 per barrel, including Nigeria's Qua Iboe and Malaysian Tapis.

N ON-LOGISTICS REGIONAL HEADLINES-

  • EGYPT: Chevron is planning to invest USD 3 bn in 1H 2024 to develop their block in the Nargis natural gas concession in the Eastern Mediterranean, according to a source close to the matter. (Asharq Business)
  • UAE + KSA: The US is pushing for a trilateral meeting with UAE and KSA to mend the rift between the neighbors in a bid to secure a lasting peace agreement in Yemen, with talks expected to take place on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in NYC. (Financial Times)

CIRCLE YOUR CALENDAR-

The Global Trade and Supply Chain Summit is taking place on 19-20 September at the Address Dubai Marina Hotel, UAE. The event, hosted by Economist Impact, will bring together some 500+ business and supply chain leaders, high level government representatives, and policymakers to discuss the implications of trade policy, business logistics, supply chain diversification from China, sustainability, product traceability, digital trade, customs compliance and evolution, supply chain resilience, and trade in emerging regions, among other topics.

The Saudi Maritime Congress will take place at Dhahran Expo in Dammam, Saudi Arabia on 20-21 September. The event will bring together regional and international professionals from the maritime, shipping, and logistics sectors to meet, network, and do business with some 120 leading maritime exhibitors.

The Engineering Export Council of Egypt (EEC) will lead a trade mission consisting of 22 Egyptian companies to Iraq from 23 to 29 September. The delegation will tour Erbil and Baghdad. The participating companies, which operate across various sectors of the engineering industry, will be looking to secure export agreements with the Iraqi market.

Shaping the Future of Shipping Summit , organized by the International Chamber of Shipping, will take place on 9 December in the UAE. The event will bring together governments and leaders in energy, maritime, and all parts of the supply chain to discuss plans to address climate change and help transition the industry towards sustainability.

A Saudi-Turkish Summit is sch eduled to take place in Istanbul, Turkey on 8-12 October. Organized by the Türkiye Exporters Assembly in coordination with the Turkish Commerce Ministry, the summit will be attended by Turkish exporters and 70 members of Saudi Arabia’s Riyadh Chamber of Commerce. The participants will also include representatives from an array of sectors including food, non-ferrous metals, textiles, ready-made garments, chemicals, and furniture.

Check out our full calendar at the bottom of this email for a comprehensive listing of upcoming news events and news triggers.

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