Thunder Bay grain shipments up in October

MarketsFarm — The Port of Thunder Bay saw an increase in its grain handle in October 2022, moving 840,000 tonnes during the month.

The grain exports were up by 33 per cent from September and up by eight per cent from October 2021, according to a news release.

The increase was seen as a return to more normal grain movement through the Lake Superior port, with Prairie crop production up substantially in 2022 after the drought in 2021 led to decreased shipments.

Total grain exports during the 2022 shipping season-to-date of 4.132 million tonnes are still well off the 5.431 million tonnes moved during the same time in 2021.

In contrast to grain cargoes, shipments of potash cargoes have been strong throughout the 2022 shipping season. As of Oct. 31, more than one million tonnes of the product have been transshipped at the port, the most in over 30 years and up from 413,402 tonnes by the same time the previous year.

Global supplies of potash, an important fertilizer input, have been strained by sanctions on product from Russia and Belarus, which comprise 32 per cent of global production capacity, the Port said in a news release.