Grain response
A terminal for transshipment of grain will be put into operation in the port of Tuapse this February. It is the second project on construction of grain handling facilities in southern ports of Russia to have been launched within the last two years. In June 2008, similar terminal was put into operation by Novorossiysk Grain Terminal OJSC. However experts say port infrastructure is still deficient for adequate export of grain cargo.
Two southern projects
By today, construction of railways and an approach jetty has been completed in Tuapse. According to press center of Commercial Seaport of Tuapse OJSC, onshore facilities of the complex are ready – 102,000-tonne grain storage capacity, wagon unloading station as well as purification tower and transport infrastructure facilities. In the nearest future they will complete the construction of a deep-sea berth for 50,000-dwt vessels. Total investment into the project is to amount to RUR 1.2 bln, CST press center says.
It is the second project on construction of grain terminal to be implemented in the southern region during the last year. In June 2008, a specialized grain terminal was put into operation by Novorossiysk Grain Terminal OJSC, subsidiary of Novorossiysk Commercial Sea Port OJSC. Theterminal is equipped by the latest equipment. In all respects this terminal is the fastest and largest grain handling complex in Russia. It facilities have space for 120,000 tonnes of grain while its berths are capable of handling vessels with displacement of up to 70,000 tonnes. Investments into the complex amounted to $82.6 mln. The terminal’s maximal capacity is 550,000 tonnes per month. The terminal has already reached its design capacity. Igor Vilinov, Director General of NovorossiyskCommercial Sea Port, when evaluating the results said “We have reached the expected volumes of transshipment and full load of the facilities within scheduled terms. It proves we were correct when weighing the demand for the terminal’s service and selecting operational parameters of the transshipment complex”.
Experts say both terminals will be in demand due to stable demand for grain transshipment.
Export capacity
As of January 2009, 11 million tonnes of wheat and 1.5 million tonnes of barley was produced in Russia. “Provided that the prices are favorable we expect export of at least 17-17.5 million tonnes or some 23 million tonnes according to the most favorable forecasts,” Alekdsandr Korbut, Vice-President of Russian Grain Union, told PortNews IAA. By 2020, Russia will raise grain production to 125 million tonnes. “We have potential for grain production but we are short of grain transshipment capacity in the ports,” Mr. Korbut said.
Meanwhile, the volume of grain transshipped in Russian ports fell down in 2008. In general the ports handled 10.352 million tonnes of grain cargo with the ports of the southern region accounting for 94.1% of the total volume (9.743.9 million tonnes). The ports of the North-West region handled 545,800 tonnes of grain (5.3%), Far East region - 62,600 tonnes (0.6%).
As of today, export of Russia grain is limited by the deficiency of our ports’ transshipment capacity. The majority of southern ports are located at the shore of a shallow Sea of Azov being not capable of handling large-capacity vessels. The only port to handle grain at the Baltic Sea is the port of St. Petersburg though there is no specialized grain terminal in the port. However, the Baltic route is in less demand as compared with that of the southern one in terms of logistics.
According to RGU, Russia exports grain to almost 60 countries. “From the logistics point of view, southern ports are most favorable for export to the Mediterranean, European Union and North America”, Mr. Korbut told. Speaking about Russia’s export potential RGU Vice-President noted that the development of grain transshipment complexes is especially significant for the Far Eastern ports. “The development of grain terminals in the Far East will make it possible to enter the market of the Asia-Pacific Region,” he said. “APR market is the largest in the world while this direction is closed for our export today”.