MOSCOW: Russian wheat export prices rose last week as the rouble strengthened by 1 percent against the dollar and global price benchmarks rose, analysts said on Monday.
Black Sea prices for Russian new-crop wheat with 12.5 percent protein content were at $178.5 a tonne on a free-on-board (FOB) basis at the end of last week, up $2 on a week earlier, Russian agricultural consultancy IKAR said in a note.
SovEcon, another Moscow-based consultancy, quoted FOB wheat prices for the new crop in the Black Sea area at $176-178 per tonne. New-crop barley prices were at $156 per tonne, IKAR added.
Russia, a major global wheat exporter, may harvest 63.5 million tonnes of wheat in 2016, 1 million tonnes more than previously expected, IKAR said earlier on Monday.
The country exported 32.3 million tonnes of grains, including 23.4 million tonnes of wheat, between July 1 and May 25, the agriculture ministry said. The pace of grain exports was up 12 percent year on year.
Domestic prices for third-class wheat were up 275 roubles compared with the end of the previous week at 11,450 roubles ($173) a tonne in the European part of Russia on an ex-works basis, according to SovEcon. Ex-works supply does not include delivery costs.
Prices for maize (corn) jumped on the domestic market by 1,575 roubles to 12,150 roubles per tonne due to a lack of sellers, it added.
On the global market, Chicago corn futures rose about 1 percent on Friday to the highest level in 10 months on strong export demand. Wheat and corn each posted third straight weekly advance.
Meanwhile, rainy weather has continued to slow down the pace of spring grain sowing in Russia, while maize sowing is already running slightly slower than a year ago, SovEcon said.
Farmers have sown spring grains on 87 percent of the planned area, or 27 million hectares by May 27, up from 24.7 million hectares on the same date a year ago. Spring wheat was sown on 92 percent of the planned area, or 12 million hectares, up from 10 million hectares.
SovEcon also said average prices for sunflower seeds were up 300 roubles to 24,375 roubles a tonne. Domestic sunflower oil prices rose 250 roubles to 54,075 roubles a tonne, while FOB Black Sea export prices were flat at $810 a tonne.
IKAR’s white sugar price index for southern Russia was at $667 a tonne at the end of last week, up $48 from a week earlier.
