On April 24, three cargo consignment bound for China were diverted to Saudi Arabia after being sold to a private buyer.
What happened?
The vessel ‘BTG Eiger’ loaded with three consignments of sorghum initially bound for China was diverted to Saudi Arabia after being sold to a private buyer. The information was confirmed by a buyer in a Middle East-based trading source with knowledge of the matter.
Destinations switched
The ship-tracking data showed that the vessel was carrying 69,842 tonnes of sorghum switch destinations to Dammam, Saudi Arabia from China. The three diverted cargoes were sold to Saudi Arabia at a price of $190 per ton delivered.
On March 3, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Federal Grains Inspection Service, the vessel departed with U.S. sorghum from Archer Daniels Midland Co’s Corpus Christi grain elevator in Texas.
Anti-dumping fine
Since last week several ships, carrying U.S. sorghum to China have changed course since Beijing slapped hefty anti-dumping deposits on U.S. imports of the grain and there are 22 waterborne vessels carrying U.S. sorghum that were loaded for China.
China imports sorghum for use in livestock feed and to manufacture the liquor baijiu. Saudi Arabia is not a big sorghum importer, but it is the world’s 10th-largest buyer of corn. The country forecasts to import 4.5 million tonnes of corn this year.
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Source: Reuters
