Global: Suez wheat flows nosedive as Red Sea tension escalates

The Wheat Dashboard of the World Trade Organization (WTO) has recorded a 40% drop in year-on-year (y-o-y) shipments of wheat through the Suez Canal since Houthi rebels based in Yemen started attacking commercial vessels. Since last November’s militia hijacking of the Galaxy Leader, a roll-on roll-off vessel carrying 4 500 cars, attacks in the Red Sea near the narrow strait of Bab-el-Mandeb in the south, have placed a significant strain on Suez traffic. According to global freight forwarding research, no fewer than 18 lines are diverting vessels away from the Red Sea. Due to rising tension in the area, escalated by western collaborative counter-missile strikes, including aerial strikes from a US aircraft carrier on military installations in Yemen, wheat shipments through the Suez have decreased to 0.5 million metric tonnes; it is estimated that around 76 million metric tonnes of grains, oilseeds and oilseed products are shipped annually from the European Union, the Russian ...