HIGHER freight costs and longer voyage times on the back of trouble in the Red Sea are among the key challenges that commodity companies and traders are grappling with. These come even as they brace themselves for an extended period of uncertainty hanging over the sector.

Speaking at a series of panel discussions on the opening day of the Asia-Pacific Commodity Trading Week – held in Singapore for the first time – executives of trading firms and commodity giants voiced concerns over the impact of factors such as geopolitical tensions and weather conditions on their businesses.

Vikram Sardeshpande, managing director at soft commodity services group ECOM Agroindustrial Asia, said commodity firms have had to adjust their risk models across the board last year on the back of volatility.