MOSCOW: Russian wheat export prices fell for the fourth consecutive week last week amid a decline in prices in Chicago and Paris and rising supply in the domestic market, analysts said on Monday.
Moscow’s wheat export tax and a grain export quota, launched on Monday as part of efforts to reduce food inflation amid the coronavirus pandemic, have already been priced in, they said.
Russian wheat with 12.5% protein loading from Black Sea ports for supply in March was at $277.5 a tonne free on board (FOB) at the end of last week, down $8.5 from the previous week, the IKAR agriculture consultancy said.
Sovecon, another Moscow consultancy, said wheat prices fell by $4 to $281, while barley was unchanged at $248.
“Russian exporters are trying to regain their competitive edge. Supply from farmers is growing in the domestic market,” Sovecon said in a note. Russia is one of the world’s largest exporters of wheat.
Risks for Russia’s 2021 winter wheat crop will rise if current warm weather, which forms an icy crust as snow melts in fields, persists for another week or two in several southern regions, Sovecon said.
A cold front that is expected to move further south this week also poses a risk for regions where plants are weak and already vegetating, it added.—Reuters
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