Market Update Region MEA

Market Update

Thank you for visiting our page and showing interest in our MEA Market Reader. Below you will find brief summaries for a quick overview of the latest supply chain developments in the Middle East and Africa region. You can download the full version from the beside section for a more in-depth analysis.

If you need more information or have specific questions, our experts are available to help. Please send an email to wemovemea@dbschenker.com with the subject "MEA Market Reader MORE INFO" detailing what you would like to know, and our team will be happy to assist you.

Summary of the Market Update 09/2023

Developments in the Middle East and Africa

Oman's refineries and petroleum industries report 13.5% growth in July
6 new countries, including Egypt, the UAE and Saudi Arabia have been admitted to the BRICS, which now represents a total of USD 27tn GDP and 42% of the world's population
UAE GDP projected to grow by 3.5% in 2023, rising to 3.9% in 2024
Saudi Arabian PIF to acquire 100% of SABIC's steel unit for USD 3.3bln
South African consumer inflation lowest in 2 years at 4.7% in July

- Jet fuel price average for 2023 (year to date) is at $122.80/bbl – jet fuel is now 23.1% more
- expensive than 1 month ago and -10.4% cheaper than one year ago
- Global air cargo demand registered 20.2 billion in June and is 3.4% lower compared to June in 2022
- Dubai International (DXB) has received an accreditation from the Airports Council International (ACI) under its Accessibility Enhancement Accreditation Program
- Etihad Airways celebrates the return of A380 to London
- Qatar Airways Cargo optimizes real-time personalized pricing
- Emirates expands it’s code-share with Philippine Airlines and Air Canada
- Customs duties on industrial goods will be eliminated in Switzerland effective 1 January 2024. This means that proof of origin is generally no longer required for duty-free imports of industrial products into Switzerland. However, if goods imported into Switzerland originating from a free trade partner are re-exported from Switzerland (processed, unprocessed or returns), it must still be possible to prove the origin; otherwise, it is not possible to issue a certificate of origin for re-export from Switzerland
- A new Swiss customs tariff structure will result in a reduced number of tariff codes, though the total length of the Swiss tariff code (8 digits) and key (3 digits) will remain unchanged
- The global ocean freight market faces negative growth of -4.5% July '23 vs '22 / -0.6% July '23 vs '19, with Freight rates now at Pre-Covid levels across most markets
- Middle East and Africa container exports are outpacing the market, with Middle East exports recording a positive growth of 4.4% July '23 vs '22 / 1.2% July '23 vs '19, whilst Africa exports recording a positive growth of 6.0% July '23 vs '22 / 12.9% July '23 vs '19
- Middle East and Africa container imports are also outperforming the majority of the market, with Middle East imports recording a positive growth of 10.5% July '23 vs '22 / 1.7% July '23 vs '19, and Africa imports reporting a positive growth of 9.5% July '23 vs '22 / 7.5% July '23 vs '19
- Global schedule reliability remained unchanged M/M in July 2023 at 64.2%, maintaining the slightly lower level than the peak reached in May 2023. On a Y/Y level however, schedule reliability in July 2023 is still 23.8 percentage points higher. The average delay for LATE vessel arrivals on the other hand deteriorated by 0.21 days M/M to 4.59 days. This is the first substantial increase of the year, and after two months of stability at 4.37 days. Despite the M/M increase, the average delay for LATE vessel arrivals is still -1.85 days better off than at the same point last year