Good morning, lovely people. We have a brisk issue for you this morning, but with several project updates from across the region and a new potential agreement for DP World.

THE BIG LOGISTICS STORY- Malaysian port operator Suria Capital is nearing a final agreement to lease out its Sapangar Bay Container Port in Sabah to DP World for 30 years, according to Malaysian press.

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

THE BIG LOGISTICS STORY OUTSIDE THE REGION-Global trade is expected to fall 5% y-o-y in 2023 amid higher borrowing costs, rising geopolitical tensions and the deterioration of US-China trade ties, an UNCTAD trade update said yesterday. The value of goods and services are expected to drop to USD 30.7 tn, with merchandise trade expected to fall 8% y-o-y to USD 2 tn, according to the report.

Also behind the decline: High inflation last year has led to a base effect that sees a lower overall value of traded goods this year, contributing to the decline. The decline can also be attributed to US-China tensions, which redirect supply chains, and more policies restricting cross-border commerce emerge.

The road ahead is uncertain: “The forecast for global trade remains highly uncertain and generally pessimistic,” the UN agency said. “While certain economic indicators hint at potential improvements, persistent geopolitical tensions, high levels of debt, and widespread economic fragility are anticipated to exert negative influences on global trade patterns.”

The forecast got a lot of ink in the foreign press: Bloomberg | Reuters | The National.

Jordan halts use of Israel’s Haifa Port to export goods: Jordan will no longer use the Port of Haifa in Israel for exports, as it plans to move operations to its own Aqaba Port, which offers lower shipping fees and transport costs, reports Jordan News.

REMEMBER-Ocean shipping rates for goods shipped from Asia and Western Europe to Israeli Ports declined in October since the war in Gaza started. The backlog of ships around Haifa increased in the last week of October, with 16 vessels anchored near the port. Shipping companies, including Evergreen, have been diverting vessels to Haifa due to concerns regarding safety.

DATA POINT-Jordan’s Port of Aqaba sees 14% m-o-m fall in the number of ships calling at the port in November, Roya News reported. Terminal handling charges also dropped 16% during the period. The number of car carriers arriving at the port also dropped 33% due to a hike in ins. on the back of the deteriorating security situation in the Bab El Mandeb strait due to attacks by Yemen’s Houthi militia. The number of ships departing Aqaba via the Aqaba-Nuweiba port increased 7% during the period, the report said.

PSA #1- Iraqi land and air ports to close for provincial elections: Iraqi land ports and airports will be closed during provincial elections day next week in accordance with a security plan, Interior Ministry spokesperson Mekdad Miri told INA. The elections will take place on Monday, 18 December, Reuters reports. So far, no directives have been issued regarding movement between provinces.

PSA #2- Adverse weather halts maritime traffic at Kuwaiti ports: Kuwait’s ports of Shuwaikh and Shuaiba have temporarily halted maritime traffic due to unstable weather conditions that have caused “low level of horizontal visibility” due to fog formation, port authorities said in a statement to Kuwaiti news agency KUNA.

HAPPENING THIS WEEK-

#1- Food Africa Cairo 2023 kicks off today and continues until 14 December at the Egypt International Exhibition Center in Cairo, Egypt. The three-day agro-food exhibition is set to bring together wholesalers, distributors, and retailers to create a network between international traders and vendors with their counterparts from Egypt, MENA, and Africa. The event aims to address the different needs of buyers and importers and to serve new markets in Egypt and Africa.

#2- South Korea resumes trade talks with GCC: South Korea has been holding talks with GCC states over a trade agreement, with the negotiations kicking off yesterday and running until Wednesday this week in Riyadh, KSA, South Korean news agency Yonhap reports. The talks are led by KSA Director-General Raja Al-Marzouqi and his South Korean counterpart Chang Sung-gil, and focus on working out differences that have stalled talks in the past, the news agency adds.

Background: The two sides held their eighth round of negotiations in Seoul in October, marking the resumption of talks which had been stalled since 2010.

#3- Egyptian trade mission in Saudi: The Engineering Export Council of Egypt started a weeklong trade mission to Saudi Arabia on Saturday. The delegation is hoping to drum up orders and investments from the kingdom for pumps, car parts, boilers, and everything in between.

#4- TheOperational Excellence Conference (OPEXKSA) takes place today and tomorrow at the Four Seasons in Riyadh in Saudi Arabia. The event will look at topics within key sectors, including logistics, including strengthening financial sustainability. Some 100 speakers and experts will be present, including private logistics firms, according to the website.

#6- TheDubai International Food Safety Conferencekicked off yesterday and will run till tomorrow at the Dubai World Trade Center. The event will look at the impact of climate change on food supply chains and safety, and will bring together some 3k industry experts, academics, institutions, local and regional organizations to exchange experience, knowledge, innovations for discussions around the challenges and trends in the sector, according to a press release.

DATA POINT-Qatar’s private sector exports exceeded QR 18.5 bn in 9M 2023, according to the Qatar Chamber. The value of exports in 3Q 2023 was some QR 3.25 bn, a 65% y-o-y decrease and a 47% q-o-q decrease. The decrease comes on the back of declines in most of Qatar’s 10 commodity groups compared to the previous quarter, with fuel exports falling by some 54%, industrial oils by 69%, and chemicals by 14%. However, aluminum exports increased by 5%, steel exports by 158%, and chemical fertilizers by 0.6%. The lion's share of exports went to the Netherlands in 3Q 2023, followed by Oman, Singapore, India, the UAE, China, Tunisia, Germany, Turkey, and France.

CIRCLE YOUR CALENDAR-

Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi will visit Turkey this month to discuss bilateral ties, as well as proposals by the Iran-Turkey Joint Chamber of Commerce for boosting bilateral trade, including through a potential trade agreement, state-aligned Tasnim News Agency quotes chairman of the chamber Mehrdad Saadat as saying. Saadat said that Iran’s trade with Europe could grow by taking advantage of Turkey’s trade capacities.

The Iran-UAE Joint Economic Cooperation Commission meeting will be held in the coming weeks in a bid to develop bilateral cooperation, deepen commercial ties, and boost trade. The location has yet to be announced.

The International Exhibition of Transportation, Logistics, and Related Industries (Iran Trans Expo 2023) will take place on 18-20 December at the Imam Khomeini Grand Prayer Campus (Mossala) in Tehran, Iran. The event is organized by Iran’s Trade Promotion Organization, the Transport and Urban Development Ministry, and the Fund for Innovation and Prosperity of Unions and Associations.

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