CMA CGM SA, the world's No. 3 container carrier, urged the industry to avoid a price war as the delivery of new vessels threatens to push global shipping to a protracted slump. "New capacity expected on the market in 2024 will likely continue to pull down freight rates," the French company controlled by billionaire Rodolphe Saade and his family said in an earnings statement on November 10. "The slowdown in the global economy is expected to continue weighing on our industry in the period ahead."

According to the preliminary report, the flooding of the Sula Valley hit national production again with millions of dollars in losses, especially with the destruction of bananas and other crops. The flooding of the Ulúa River flooded plains of the Sula Valley, mainly in the lower parts of the municipalities of Pimienta, Villanueva, Potrerillos and San Manuel in Cortés, in Santa Rita and El Negrito in Yoro, extending to the Ramal del Tigre in Tela, Atlántida.

Heavy rains in the upper part of the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta and the municipality of Zona Bananera caused the water level to rise, seriously affecting small banana and palm producers. José Francisco Zúñiga, Executive President of the Association of Banana Growers of Magdalena and La Guajira (Asbama), said: "From Asbama, we call on the authorities of the department, mayor's office and governor's office to declare an emergency.

Maersk is expected to post third-quarter revenue of $12.66 billion, down 44% from a year earlier, according to a FactSet consensus. Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization are seen at $2.12 billion from $10.86 billion a year earlier, while net profit is seen falling 96% to $334 million, according to FactSet. Earnings are expected to be hit by a sharp drop in freight rates and weak demand for container freight.

Fresh Del Monte Produce Inc reported quarterly adjusted earnings of 35 cents per share for the quarter ended in September, lower than the same quarter last year, when the company reported EPS of 54 cents. The mean expectation of two analysts for the quarter was for earnings of 43 cents per share. Wall Street expected results to range from 37 cents to 48 cents per share.

The Panama Canal, which is facing a severe drought, announced that it will gradually reduce the number of ship crossings starting November 3 to save water. The Panama Canal Authority (ACP) indicated that it plans to initially cut daily crossings through this waterway, which moves almost 6% of the world's maritime trade, from 29 to 25. In 2022, an average of 39 ships passed through per day, but the number had been decreasing for months.

The El Niño phenomenon is already in Ecuador, according to the Oceanographic Institute of the Navy (Inocar) of the Andean country in a statement where it also reported that intense to moderate rains are expected from October 30 throughout the country. "The rainfall that is being recorded in some sectors of the country responds to atypical atmospheric circulation, and that is associated with the El Niño event," Inocar acknowledged on October 28, after two days of heavy rains in the city of Guayaquil and other parts of the Ecuadorian coast.

The King of Spain, Felipe VI, will host a lunch on Friday, November 3, for the president-elect of Ecuador, Daniel Noboa, who is visiting Madrid during a visit to Europe, hoping to gain support for some of his main projects. Noboa, who on October 15 won the second round of the presidential elections, will assume the presidency on December 1.

The Puerto Bolívar Maritime Terminal, operated by Yilport, will receive a new batch of STS and RTG cranes. The machines were manufactured by Mitsui E&S Machinery C and will arrive on November 21. The new STS cranes, which left the Port of Oita in Japan on October 24, stand out for their reach capacity of 67 meters (24 rows), allowing them to serve the largest container ships, even those of up to 20,000 TEUs.

Panama Lawmakers on Friday, November 3, Approved A National Moratorium on New Mining Explorations and Extraction Activities. After weeks of protests rattled the Central American nation, the law passed in its third and final vote and now requires President Laurentino Cortizo's signature, the National Assembly said in a statement.

Ecuador's President-elect Daniel Noboa appointed Danilo Palacios Marquez, 52 years of age, a graduate of the Zamorano Panamerican Agricultural School, as Minister of Agriculture and Livestock for his new Government. Palacios, a businessman from the province of El Oro, has experience in agriculture, commercial and industrial production.

The Protected Geographical Indication (PGI) of the Plátano de Canarias, which encompasses 100% of the production in the Archipelago, will now have a differentiated nomenclature within the customs code of the European Union. It has been reflected in the amendment published on November 1 in the Official Journal of the EU,

One of the things that make a country memorable to tourists and foreign business people is its produce, including local fruits. The homegrown fruits and other food items leave an indelible mark on those who visit the Philippines or have sampled our products at foreign trade fairs. The Japanese, for one, are fond of Philippine Cavendish bananas and pineapples and import these fruits regularly.

So far, in 2023, Peruvian banana exports reached 149,727 tons, registering a contraction of -12% compared to what was shipped in the same period of the previous year. For the past two weeks, Peruvian banana shipments have stayed within the 3,000-ton mark exported. In this last week, product shipments totalled 2,906 tons, which was 7% less than the same week the previous year.

Yara Clean Ammonia, North Sea Container Line, and Yara International have joined forces to develop the world's first containership powered by pure ammonia. The vessel, named Yara Eyde, will operate between Norway and Germany, establishing the first emission-free sea route to the European continent.