Russian wheat export prices were broadly flat last week as continuing strong demand from traders and farmers holding onto their crops offset supply from the harvest, analysts said on Monday. Russia, one of the world's largest wheat exporters, is set to harvest its largest crop in six years. It supplied 2.5 million tonnes of wheat outside the country between August 1-20, Russian agriculture consultancy IKAR said in a note.
Supporting prices is continuing strong demand from exporters and farmers who are selling cereals other than wheat when they need cash, SovEcon, another consultancy, said. According to IKAR, the country's August exports may reach a record amount for the month. It did not provide an export forecast.
Russian export prices for new-crop wheat with 12.5 percent protein content were flat at $243 per tonne last week, IKAR said. The quote was on a free-on-board (FOB) basis in the Black Sea compared with the previous week. Export prices for wheat with the same protein content rose $3 to $219 per tonne in the Azov Sea, while FOB prices for new-crop maize (corn) were quoted at between $180 and $185 per tonne.
SovEcon quoted FOB prices for wheat with 12.5 percent protein content in the Black Sea at $246 per tonne, down $0.5. Russia has already harvested 46 million tonnes of wheat from 54 percent of the planned area, up from 39 million tonnes a year ago, according to the Agriculture ministry.
Grain stocks at farms and procurement and processing companies, excluding small farms, were up 21 percent from a year earlier to 30.3 million tonnes as of August 1, according to data from statistics service Rosstat. IKAR quoted new-crop sunflower seed prices at about $340 per tonne, while FOB Black Sea crude sunoil prices were at $730 per tonne. IKAR also said its white sugar prices index fell to $666 per tonne from $694 per tonne.
