UK meat export spending to rise next year

Drewry's Reefer Shipping's recent annual survey and forecast show that chilled goods prices will rise next year, making UK MEAT exports less competitive in several markets.

Part of the reason, the consulting firm says, is that perishable cargo shippers compete with higher-priced dry cargo at border checkpoints. While experts believe that “these conditions are short-term and self-adjusting as trade normalizes from mid-2022,” they also expect the availability of refrigerated container equipment to remain a challenge as the global fleet is not expected to keep up with rising demand.

“Unlike dry container freight rates, which are expected to decline in 2022 as trade conditions normalize, refrigerated container freight rates are projected to continue to rise as inflation impacts North-South routes once rates resume. under long-term contracts,” said Philip Gray, HEAD of Drewry's Reefer Shipping.  

And this fact will be taken into account when preparing the monthly analytical report Meatinfo.ru

A key driver of inflation in refrigerated freight rates was capacity, as perishable shippers competed with higher-paying dry-cargo BCOs for limited container ship space despite ample capacity for refrigerant congestion. Meanwhile, continued disruptions in container supply chains have resulted in a severe shortage of refrigerated container equipment, which is already exacerbated by the particularly unbalanced nature of the refrigerated trade.

“We believe these conditions are short-term and will automatically correct as trade normalizes from mid-2022,” Gray added. “However, we expect the availability of refrigerated container equipment to remain a challenge for some traders during their peak seasons as the global fleet is expected to be unable to keep up with rising cargo demand despite record new container production.”