The blockade stops US grain exports – Swiss farmers

The major grain export artery in the American Midwest has been closed because the I-40 Highway bridge over the river has cracks in the metal girders.

Ships and tugs propelling more than 700 barges were suspended in the Mississippi River near Memphis, Tennessee on May 13, 2021, halting the transportation of grain and fuel on the main waterway in the United States. The river remains closed while a fault in a highway bridge is being investigated, as is the information platform Farm futures mentioned.

The Mississippi River is the main artery for US grain exports, with boats of grain and soybeans floating to terminals on the Gulf of Mexico. Any long-term disruptions to shipments, although merchants can also send some deliveries on trains and divert them to ports along the Pacific Northwest.

However, a prolonged stalemate could upset the grain markets, with soybean and corn exchanges reaching multi-year highs due to bad weather in Latin America and the buying frenzy in China.