Worsening China-US relations and a smaller US crop have raised fears that the trade in soybeans between the two nations might never fully recover.

This negativity has been priced into new deals with forward freight agreement rates for panamax bulkers at below $10,000 per day for 2020 and falling under $9,000 for 2021 onwards.

That is sharply down from today’s peaks, which are not far from the year high of $17,597 per day.