Export prices for Russian wheat rose for the sixth consecutive week last week due to the firmer ruble exchange rate and strong demand ahead of the Russian New Year vacations.
Black Sea wheat of Russian origin with a protein content of 12.5% for delivery in January rose by $6 to $218/tonne on an FOB basis, according to agricultural consultancy IKAR.
SovEcon, another major agricultural consultancy, reports a price increase of $3 to $216/ton.
Russia has exported 22.4 million tons of grain including 19.6 million tons of wheat since the start of the 2019/20 marketing period. Total grain exports fell by 15% compared to the previous year.
According to SovEcon, the weather in Russia is drier and significantly warmer than usual. Colder temperatures are expected in the coming weeks, but so far no damage is expected to the still young grain plants.
The domestic price for class 3 wheat in the European part of Russia fell by 100 roubles to 11,650 roubles ($187)/tonne last week on an ex works basis.
Russia's 2019 grain harvest (after cleaning and drying) reached a volume of 120.6 million tons, according to the state statistics agency. This is an increase of 7.3 million tons on the previous year (113.3 million tons). SovEcon expects the authority to increase the estimate by 100,000 - 300,000 tons later in the season.
Source
HANSA Terminhandel
