US farms to receive $16bn to offset trade war impact
The US government will provide up to $16bn to US farmers this year to offset the impact of the ongoing trade dispute with China, up from $12bn pledged last year.
A second year of the market facilitation program (MFP) will see $14.5bn in direct payments to a broad array of arable, livestock and fruit producers, the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) said today.
The list of eligible products is broader than last year but, like last year, most payment is expected to be made to soybean, corn and wheat farmers.
MFP payments will be made in a way that aims not to distort current farmers' spring planting decisions, the USDA said without providing details. USDA said acres eligible for support payments could not exceed total 2018 plantings.
Payments will be made in 2-3 tranches, with the first payments made in late-July/early-August and subsequent payments dependent on market conditions.
Senate finance committee chairman Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) said the aid could provide payments of close to $2/bushel on soybeans and 75¢/bushel on corn, at a briefing yesterday.
Many in the market are concerned that the new soybean subsidy will lead to even more soybeans being added to the already well-supplied marketplace, as producers chase the extra premium. If realized, farmers risks depressing commodity prices even after the current trade dispute is resolved.
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Singapore, Rotterdam advance 'green' shipping corridor
Singapore, Rotterdam advance 'green' shipping corridor
Singapore, 15 April (Argus) — The Singapore-Rotterdam Green and Digital Shipping Corridor (GDSC) is accelerating its decarbonisation efforts with new partners, and is advancing initiatives to encourage the uptake of sustainable marine fuels. The world's two largest marine fuel hubs established the Singapore-Rotterdam GDSC in August 2022, in a push for maritime decarbonisation and digitalisation between the ports. There are 26 global value-chain partners in the GDSC initiative including fuel suppliers, shipping lines, knowledge partners and financial entities. German container shipping line Hapag-Lloyd is the latest partner in the Singapore-Rotterdam trade lane, committing to operate large container vessels on zero and near-zero carbon emission fuels. Hapag-Lloyd is the world's fifth-largest liner shipping firm with at least 260 ocean-going vessels, according to the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA). GDSC working groups will also pilot the uptake of sustainable marine fuels — like bio-methane, methanol, ammonia, and hydrogen — and test out commercial structures to reduce cost barriers in switching to alternative fuels. This includes a bio-methane working group that is studying regulations and standards to support adopting the fuel for marine bunkering on a commercial scale. GDSC partners also plan to carry out bio-LNG bunkering pilots over 2024-25, based on a mass balancing chain of custody principle. A methanol working group is working on fuel standards and knowledge exchange, in addition to addressing common challenges to carry out commercial methanol bunkering at Singapore and Rotterdam. And an ammonia working group is developing a framework to assess the lifecycle greenhouse gas intensity of green ammonia for bunkering, to be completed by 2025. Improvements to digitalisation have also been made as part of the GDSC initiative, with Singapore and Rotterdam successfully piloting an exchange of port-to-port data. Both ports will be able to exchange vessel arrival and departure times for port planning, and ships travelling between Singapore and Rotterdam can also optimise their port call voyage. The maritime sector is pushing towards a more resilient and efficient energy transition, and participants have pointed out that collaboration between countries and stakeholders would be key to green shipping corridors . The GDSC is a "very valuable collaboration in accelerating the twin transition: the integration of digital innovation in energy transition efforts," said chief executive officer of Port of Rotterdam Authority (PoR), Boudewijn Siemons. "Not only are we seeing the first results in standardization and data sharing for Port Call Optimization but also the first steps in moving towards operationalization of zero and low carbon fuels on this trade lane." Progress on the GDSC development also reflects that "public-private collaboration across global value chains can be achieved," said MPA chief executive Teo Eng Dih. By Cassia Teo Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2024. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
Gunvor set for buying spree after windfall: CEO
Gunvor set for buying spree after windfall: CEO
London, 12 April (Argus) — Trading firm Gunvor plans to use part of a massive earnings windfall over the past two years to build out its asset base, its chief executive Torbjörn Törnqvist told Argus . "Today, we are under-invested in assets so we will change that," Törnqvist said, adding that investments would be broad based and to some extent opportunistic. "We will employ quite a lot of capital in investments." Independent commodity trading companies are sitting on unprecedented piles of cash after two years of bumper earnings arising from supply chain disruptions and market volatility. While Geneva-based Gunvor is smaller than its peers Vitol, Trafigura and Mercuria, it is still a huge company by most metrics. It reported revenues of $127bn in 2023 and a profit of $1.25bn, following a record $2.36bn in 2022. It has kept most of its earnings in house and had an equity position of almost $6.16bn by the end of 2023 — its highest ever. Törnqvist is eyeing further growth. "We will definitely be a much bigger company, that I can say," he replied when asked where he saw Gunvor in 10 years' time. "I think we will grow in tune with the [energy] transition." Trading firms are looking for ways to keep their competitive advantage, particularly given the uncertainties associated with the energy transition. One emerging trend is an appetite for infrastructure. Vitol is in the process of buying a controlling stake in Italian refiner Saras, which operates the 300,000 b/d Sarroch refinery in Sardinia. Trafigura said this week that it is in talks to buy ExxonMobil's 133,000 b/d Fos refinery on the French Mediterranean coast. Part of the rationale behind these moves is to increase optionality and take advantage of the loss of Russian products to the European market, as well the closure of large chunks of local refining capacity. Gunvor owns the landlocked 100,000 b/d Ingolstadt refinery in Germany and a 75,000 b/d refinery in Rotterdam, where it plans to shift away from fossil fuel use. "Many oil refineries have been up for sale and still are," Törnqvist said. Asked if Gunvor was looking for something similar, he said the company is interested in the "right opportunity" whether in upstream, downstream, midstream or shipping. "It all feeds into what we are doing and all supports our underlying trading," he said. But Törnqvist suspects a lot of Gunvor's growth will come from gas and power — areas where trading companies are already seeing rising profits. The company made its first investment in a power generation asset late in 2023, when it agreed to buy BP's 75pc stake in the 785MW Bahia de Bizkaia combined-cycle gas turbine plant in Bilbao, Spain. It has signed a slew of LNG offtake agreements in the past year and continues to grow its LNG tanker fleet . "We're building logistical capabilities in LNG," Törnqvist said. "Oil is here to stay" Törnqvist said Gunvor is well placed to navigate the energy transition, and is stepping up investments in renewables and biofuels and expanding into carbon and metals trading. "There will be disruptions, there will be different paths to the transition in different parts of the world which go at different paces and have different priorities and ways to deal with it," he said. "This will create opportunities." But Törnqvist is clear that oil and gas will remain an integral part of Gunvor's business. "We feel that oil is here to stay," he said. "And it will grow for several years." By Aydin Calik Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2024. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
Japan’s Idemitsu, Zen-noh tie up on SAF feedstock
Japan’s Idemitsu, Zen-noh tie up on SAF feedstock
Osaka, 11 April (Argus) — Japanese refiner Idemitsu has agreed to collaborate with Zen-noh Grain, a US subsidiary of Japan's national federation of agricultural co-operative associations (Zen-noh), to secure feedstock to produce sustainable aviation fuel (SAF). Idemitsu will work together with Louisiana-based Zen-noh Grain to establish an SAF supply chain, by developing various types of its feedstocks in North America and bringing some of them to Japan to produce SAF, Idemitsu announced on 11 April. Under the deal, the companies plan to extract oil from soybeans, which Zen-noh handles in Japan and the US, and process it to SAF by using hydrotreated esters and fatty acids (Hefa) technology. The firms are also aiming to develop other non-edible oilseed feedstocks, such as camelina sativa, carinata and winter rapeseed, as off-season soybean crops in North America, while studying possible uses for the leftover residue after extraction of oil from pongamia in Japan. Idemitsu is gearing up efforts to secure sufficient SAF feedstocks to meet its SAF output target of 500mn litres/yr by 2030, by utilising Hefa and alcohol-to-jet (ATJ) technologies. The company plans to start up its first 100mn l/yr ATJ plant at its Chiba refinery in the April 2026-March 2027 fiscal year. It is also considering Hefa SAF production at its Tokuyama petrochemical complex. Japan's demand for SAF is expected to continue rising, to meet its net zero greenhouse gas emissions in 2050 goal. Demand is expected to reach 1.71bn l/yr by 2030, with Japan's trade and industry ministry (Meti) planning to mandate that SAF make up at least 10pc of total jet fuel consumption by volume. Meti forecasts SAF supplies to be 1.92bn l/yr, but there is uncertainty because of feedstock availability and technology development. A number of Japanese firms are attempting to secure used cooking oil (UCO), as UCO is potentially a key feedstock in SAF production. But its supply remains limited. Around 380,000t of UCO was collected in Japan during the April 2021-March 2022 fiscal year, according to the country's federation for UCO recycling co-operatives, UCO Japan. Out of this, 200,000t was used for livestock feed, mostly for chicken, while 120,000t was exported to mainly Europe. To ensure a stable supply of SAF feedstocks, the Tokyo Metropolitan Government (TMG) is planning to conduct a feasibility study to produce SAF from general waste in Tokyo, or industrial waste from inside and outside Tokyo if securing suitable general waste is difficult. The TMG aims to select around three projects through a public tender, which is open for bids from 4-25 April, with a plan to provide up to ¥25mn ($163,169) of subsidies per project. By Motoko Hasegawa Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2024. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
Japanese firms target ammonia-fuelled bulk carrier
Japanese firms target ammonia-fuelled bulk carrier
Tokyo, 11 April (Argus) — A group of Japanese companies plan to work with Germany-based engine manufacturer MAN Energy Solutions in developing an ammonia-fuelled bulk carrier. Shipping firms Kwasaki Kisen Kaisha (Kline) and NS United Kaiun, trading house Itochu and vessel engineering firms Nihon Shipyard and Mitsui E&S signed an initial agreement on 10 April to develop a pilot 200,000dwt-class bulk carrier equipped with an ammonia-fuelled engine. The vessel will be used to collect data for building future commercial ships. Kline said it is unsure when the pilot vessel will be commissioned and when it will begin operating the ammonia-fuelled bulk carriers. The companies are also currently unsure how much ammonia will be needed for voyages. MAN Energy Solutions and Mitsui E&S will develop the ammonia-fuelled engine, Nihon Shipyard will build the vessel, while Itochu, Kline and NS United Kaiun will manage the ship to collect operating data. Itochu will also be in charge of sharing ammonia supply chain-related information. Japanese shipping firm NYK Line, engine developers IHI Power Systems and Japan Engine, Nihon Shipyard and Japanese classification society Class NK are also attempting to build an ammonia-fuelled ammonia carrier , targeting a commissioning in 2026. By Nanami Oki Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2024. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
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