{"id":73263,"date":"2023-09-05T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2023-09-05T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/logistics\/2023\/09\/05\/today-theres-hope-for-the-black-sea-grain-pact-saudi-arabias-trade-balance-narrows-in-2q-2023-on-the-back-of-falling-oil-exports\/"},"modified":"2023-09-05T00:00:00","modified_gmt":"2023-09-05T00:00:00","slug":"today-theres-hope-for-the-black-sea-grain-pact-saudi-arabias-trade-balance-narrows-in-2q-2023-on-the-back-of-falling-oil-exports","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/logistics\/2023\/09\/05\/today-theres-hope-for-the-black-sea-grain-pact-saudi-arabias-trade-balance-narrows-in-2q-2023-on-the-back-of-falling-oil-exports\/","title":{"rendered":"TODAY: There\u2019s hope for the Black Sea grain pact + Saudi Arabia\u2019s trade balance narrows in 2Q 2023 on the back of falling oil exports"},"content":{"rendered":"

Good morning, friends. <\/strong>The newsflow has relatively slowed down from a hectic start to the week, though there are some interesting updates coming out of Iraq and Iran. <\/p>\n

THE BIG LOGISTICS STORY- Iran has completed construction work on road upgrades and a transit and export terminal at its <\/strong> southern Shahid Rajaee Port. <\/strong>Over in Iraq, the government has approved plans to build a new residential city and airport, as the country continues to develop its infrastructure. <\/p>\n

^^ We have everything on this story and more in the news well, below.<\/p>\n

BUT FIRST- <\/strong><\/p>\n

COUNTDOWN- There are just 13 days until the Enterprise Finance Forum, taking place at the St. Regis Hotel in the Nile Corniche<\/strong>. This flagship forum is the latest in our must-attend series of invitation-only events, where CEOs, bankers, investors, and founders will meet to discuss the trends shaping the future of banking, finance, NBFIs, and fintech.<\/p>\n

You won\u2019t want to miss our lineup and agenda: <\/strong> Join Todd Wilcox (CEO and deputy chair, HSBC Egypt), Akef El Maghraby (vice chairman, Banque Misr), Mariam El Samny (head of consumer banking, FAB Misr), Amr Allam (Co-CEO, Hassan Allam Holding), Nivanne Mortagy (North Africa lead, upstream, financial institutions group, IFC), Mounir Nakhla (Founder and CEO, MNT Halan), Leila Serhan (group country manager and senior VP for North Africa, Levant and Pakistan, Visa) and much more for in-depth discussion on everything from investing in uncertain times, to the coming of AI and digital banks. Tap or click <\/strong>here<\/a><\/strong> to register or view the agenda. <\/strong><\/p>\n

We are honored to count some of the region\u2019s most important financial institutions as our partners for this special event. <\/strong>The Enterprise Finance Forum could not take place without support from: Banque Misr, Al Baraka Bank, FAB Misr, HSBC, Mashreq, CI Capital, Global Corp, Visa, Hassan Allam Utilities, and the IFC. <\/p>\n

<\/a> <\/p>\n

<\/a> THE BIG LOGISTICS STORY ABROAD- <\/strong> Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has signaled hope for the restoration of the Black Sea grain pact, during his meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin, Reuters<\/a> reports. Erdogan said the initiative could continue if the sides worked to eliminate \u201cits shortcomings,\u201d according to the newswire. Turkey has prepared a package of suggestions in consultation with the UN, and is hopeful that they could reach a solution \u201cin a short time,\u201d Erdogan is quoted as saying. <\/p>\n

REMEMBER- <\/strong>Russia pulled out<\/a> in July of the Black Sea grain pact, which allowed Ukraine to export grain and other food commodities via its Black Sea ports, threatening to provoke a fresh global food crisis.<\/p>\n

Ukraine has partially restricted <\/strong> railway cargo shipments to its Danube Port Izmail <\/strong>as of Sunday, following the second recent Russian drone attack<\/a> against Ukrainian port facilities on the Danube River in Odessa, Reuters<\/a> reports, citing Ukrainian Railways. The latest attack hit warehouses, production buildings, and civilian infrastructure buildings, Reuters adds, citing regional authorities. The Danube has become Ukraine\u2019s principal gateway<\/a> for grain exports after the collapse of the UN-brokered Black Sea grain agreement with Russia.<\/p>\n

DATA POINTS- <\/strong><\/p>\n

The Qatar Civil Av <\/strong> iation Authority (QCAA) saw a 20.1% y-o-y rise in <\/strong> aircraft movement during July<\/strong>,according to preliminary data from Qatar\u2019s Civil Aviation Authority<\/a>. Air cargo and mail, however, fell 1.2% y-o-y during the same period. <\/p>\n

<\/a> Overall <\/strong> merchandise <\/strong> exports in Saudi Arabia fell 31.8% y-o-y in 2Q 2023 to SAR <\/strong> 291.6 bn<\/strong>, according to General Authority for Statistics figures (pdf)<\/a>. The drop is primarily attributed to a significant decline in oil exports, which fell 33.4% y-o-y to SAR 227.7 bn. Non-oil exports \u2014 including re-exports \u2014 also fell by 25.9% y-o-y. Merchandise imports, however, rose 2% in 2Q 2023 to SAR 178.9 bn, but fell 7.8% q-o-q.<\/p>\n

<\/a> MARKET WATCH- The Saudi oil cuts continued in August: <\/strong>Saudi Arabia's crude oil shipments fell to 175.2 mn barrels in August, down 31 mn barrels m-o-m, according to Refinitiv shipping data cited by Zawya<\/a>. Saudi Arabia implemented a production cut of 1 mn barrels per day (bpd) in July, in addition to its existing 1.5 mn bpd output reduction. <\/p>\n

\n
\n
\n
\n

Get Enterprise<\/b> daily <\/h4>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

The roundup of news and trends that move your markets and shape corporate agendas delivered straight to your inbox.<\/p>\n

Subscribe here<\/a> <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

NON-LOGISTICS REGIONAL HEADLINES- <\/strong><\/p>\n