CEO of Alvean Sugar SL, the world’s largest sugar trader, recently stated that the share of refined sugar trade done using containers had fallen from its pre-pandemic level of 80% to around 60%. According to Clarksons, 2019’s white sugar trade in dry bulk amounted to 26 MMT and would suggest containerized volumes of 108 MMT. The CEO’s numbers would imply a doubling of white sugar volumes on dry bulk vessels and contribute to the current tight dry bulk markets.

 
The phenomenon is not isolated to sugar and has been evident for several commodities which have favored cheap container boxes over shipments in bulkers in recent years. For example, a rice exporter in India is looking to use a dry bulk vessel for a shipment of rice equivalent to 10 full containers.

The switch from container boxes to bulk vessels has been apparent for some time, with certain stakeholders citing numbers up to 10% of volumes for Supramax bulkers. In our view, this could explain some of the consistent strength seen thus far in 2021 for the smaller vessel segments.