Good morning, folk. The news cycle is slowing down again, leaving us with a brisk read led by warehousing updates from Egypt and Turkey.

Over in Istanbul, high-density, smart storage is increasingly becoming an attractive option for developers looking to tap the market amid rising rents and scarcity of land. Austria’s Voestalpine EUR 41 mn contract to build a 40-meter-high automated, high-bay warehouse is a case in point for this trend.

Meanwhile, Egypt is planning to triple its food storage capacity, as part of a new strategy to hedge against food market volatility. The shift will see Egypt move away from paper commodity ins. in favor of physical hoarding backed by big warehousing infrastructure builds across the country.

The big logistics story abroad

The chatter around the EU’s potential reaction to the US’s tariff threats over Greenland tensions has extended to markets, with analysts now looking at whether European countries might go as far as selling off tns of USD in US bonds and stocks, potentially driving borrowing costs up and equities down, Bloomberg reports.

Why it matters: While analysts say this is an unlikely scenario given a lot of these assets are held by private funds, the fact that Deutsche Bank’s chief global currency strategist is even discussing the “weaponization of capital” signals the current risks to markets amid ongoing geopolitical tensions and uncertainty courtesy of Trump.

Watch this space

STORAGE — Egypt is eyeing tripling its food storage capacity this year, as part of a change of strategy in the way it hedges food security risks, a senior government source tells EnterpriseAM. The plan will see Egypt move away from financial commodity ins. in favor of physical hoarding as a proactive risk management tool, expanding storage capacity from 1.8 mn tons to around 6 mn tons to insulate the budget from global price spikes, the source added.

Why this matters: The state is moving to protect its EGP 160 bn subsidy bill for commodities for the current fiscal year, which is already up 20% from the last budget. By shifting from paper hedges (which carry high premiums) to physical hedges, the state is betting that it can manage volatility more cheaply — and keep inflation in check — by buying in bulk during troughs and storing the surplus in a new, private-sector-built infrastructure.

Warehouses to accommodate the drastic increase in stockpiled commodities are already in the works, with the government to take delivery of three massive strategic warehouses designed to extend the shelf life of strategic reserves — particularly wheat — to 9-10 months in the second quarter of the year. The three warehouses in Sharqia, Suez, and Fayoum are being developed under build-own-operate-transfer agreements by Orascom Construction, Hassan Allam Holding, and Sancrete, with investments totalling EGP 12 bn, we were told. The government is also accelerating the deployment of 40 smart silos before the spring procurement season.

SHIPPING — Greece joins KSA + US in anti-NZF push: The Greek government has teamed up with Saudi Arabia and the US against the International Maritime Organization’s (IMO) Net-Zero Framework (NZF), weakening the EU’s ability to negotiate for the carbon levy as one bloc. Athens and Riyadh have agreed to submit a joint proposal on this issue to compete against the NZF, Greek Energy Minister Stavros Papastavrou reportedly said.

ICYMI- Greece broke ranks with the EU bloc last October by abstaining from an IMO vote that was then set to mint the NZF as the lay of the land for global shipping before Washington and several players from our region, including Riyadh, led a voting bloc that postponed the vote for 2026.

PROJECTS — Saudi wagers SAR bns on rebuilds in Yemen: Saudi Arabia is set to rehabilitate Yemen’s Aden International Airport and coastal roads networks as part of a SAR 1.9 bn development project initiative in Yemen, according to a statement released on X last week. The rehabilitation projects — implemented via the Saudi Development and Reconstruction Program for Yemen (SDRPY) — cover a total of 28 projects, spanning fuel supplies, hospitals, and schools.

Market watch

Oil prices were up this morning amid signs of a weakened USD and market tensions caused by the US-EU tensions over Greenland, Reuters reports. Brent crude futures were up USD 0.15 to trade at USD 64.09 / bbl as of 04:30 GMT, while US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) increased by USD 0.14 to USD 59.58 / bbl for February contracts and USD 0.06 to USD 59.40 / bbl for March futures.

CLOSER TO HOME- Asian refiners appear to be ditching Abu Dhabi’s flagship crude Murban, as cheaper alternatives gain ground across the Asian slate, Bloomberg reports, citing traders. Murban’s premium over Dubai crude hit USD 2.24 / bbl, more than 2x its end‑2025 level, pushing refiners toward cheaper barrels. Upper Zakum, the UAE’s medium-sour grade, was priced at a mere USD 0.10 premium over Dubai after trading at a markdown for most of the past two weeks.

Why the change? This comes as Saudi Arabia ramps up medium-sour supply faster than peers, and refiners in Japan, South Korea, and India lean into Arab Medium and Arab Heavy, alongside Upper Zakum and Qatar’s Al Shaheen, traders said.

The Baltic Index sees robust gains: The Baltic Exchange’s dry bulk sea freight index — which tracks rates for the capesize, panamax, and supramax vessel segments — climbed 5.3% to 1,650 points on Monday. The capesize gained 8.1% to 2,403 points, while the panamax index saw increased by 4.3% to 1,521. Meanwhile, the smaller supramax index gained 3 points to hit 970.

Data point

USD 213.5 bn — that’s the volume of China’s Belt and Road Initiative financing in 2025, up from USD 122.6 bn in 2024. The energy sector led the surge, with USD 93.9 bn poured into oil, gas, and power.

***YOU’RE READING EnterpriseAM Logistics, the essential MENA publication for senior execs who care about the industry that connects producers and retailers to global markets. We’re out Monday through Thursday by 9:15am in Cairo and Riyadh and 11:15am in the UAE.

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